00:05 - 02/14/2009
Dream Work
Scheherezade continues her tales. I headed out a few hours early on Sunday for my next assignment. That other casual contract I have being the reason. It was the second assignment in a couple of weeks that I had picked up. I am trying to increase my income, although the pay for the piecework is minimal. However, I enjoy those assignments and I always learn something new too - bonus. This assignment was to assess the effectiveness of a training program. The person did very well. Headed off on the train next, crosstown to the south of the city for my work assignment, but still arrived early. Temptation in the form of a bookstore was unavoidable, since it was the next store over. What's a girl to do? I spent a very happy half hour browsing, with the gift card one of my sons had given me for Christmas begging to be used. How could I resist? Found one book I have really wanted to read with the help of a rather shocked young gentleman. The title of the book implying a nature I don't have, you see. Once I explained to him what the subject matter was and why it interested me, he showed a great deal of relief. I suspect on his next break he likely was leafing through that particular volume himself. Made it through a very busy checkout line with one minute to spare. Good thing my assignment was right next door, eh?
As it was, I was still the first person to arrive at the music store that was our assignment for the afternoon and evening. Good thing it was start time or I likely would have been shopping again, even though I can't afford it. The other two people scheduled to work arrived shortly after me. As we waited for the manager to bring our hand-held computers along, we scoped out the storeroom where we would be working for the first part of the day. Stacks of boxes teetering precariously in towers along one wall ended up being my part of the process. The material was relatively well prepped, so the time passed quickly as we scanned every single item individually. The three of us took our break just as the rest of the crew began to arrive to prepare for the count on the sales floor. The two other counters always work together and by themselves, being very reserved. I guess it was a bit of a break through, when they invited me to join them at a table in the food court. Progress in small steps. We watched as the competitor of our inventory company took a crew into another store that was in that particular mall. The other two counters with me had some questions about that that I could answer, having been briefed about the issue a couple of days earlier. I think maybe they decided, at that point, that I was a useful contact to have after all.
The newly arrived counters joined us for a pre-work snack as well, visiting among themselves, joking in a language where I can only decipher some of the words. Didn't really matter. Laughter translates the same in all languages, after all. The evening work went quickly and the merchandise kept me interested throughout. DVDs and CDs, electronic games systems and accessories as well. I stayed behind to help with clearing up problems after most of the main crew had left. Chatting with the crew manager on the way home about things political. He had just returned from a sunny winter holiday with his partner and was comparing lifestyles and economic issues there with the situation here. More information that I couldn't have easily gathered any other way, all fascinating in it's own right. Some discussion about the need for political activism was heartening as well.
Next morning was an early start, so I was able to watch the beginning of that lunar eclipse at 21 degrees of Leo. The sky was clear, so the moonlight was brilliant as we headed out of the city toward one of the bedroom communities and one of the chain grocery stores we service. My first time at that particular merchant's facilities, but our company's manager still asked me to supervise crew instead of count. This type of count was completely different from the type we did the evening before, or on most other assignments. Just two grocery chains ask for this style of counting. Fortunately, two of our company's best counters were part of the team and they were very gracious about answering some of my questions as well. The manager is one of the leaders I really enjoy working with, because he is a great teacher as well. It was a good day's work, even if a little intimidating at first. This company's senior managers seem to enjoy throwing me into new situations without warning - I guess to see how I cope. You know I enjoy change and challenges, dear diary, so I'm fine with that. It's a good way to learn as far as I'm concerned.
Next morning was a sports store that I had been to very early on, when I first started working for this company. The first time the count had gone so late that the manager had to drive each of us home - no busses were running by the time we finished, you see. There was a new manager at the store this time and the prep work was exceptionally good. It was still a long count, given the large number of crew in attendance, but that was because the store itself was quite large and densely packed with merchandise that had to be counted one piece at a time, with the store's staff counting the same material. A comparative count that had to be exact before we left. The manager for the count asked me to stay after the rest of the crew left, so I could help with resolving variances. I enjoyed that part of the work since it requires one to use one's head, as well as one's hands. Discussion on the way to the drop off point after work was about our families and where/how we grew up. Values. It is always fascinating to learn about the factors that drive the choices people make, isn't it, dear diary.
Worked with that same manager the next morning in a different bedroom community than the one I was in the day of the eclipse. East, instead of north, of the city. A small independent department store. About half an hour into the count all the lights went out. Lucky our hand-held computers are powered by batteries, eh? I spent some time helping the new counters reprogram their units for the "glow in the dark" screen function, so they could continue counting anyway. About an hour into the process - and after the lights came back on - the manager sent me and another counter into the stockroom where, once again, there were towering stacks of boxes teetering along the walls. Those boxes had been meticulously labelled by the store's area manager. His instructions were to count one by one, but our manager gave a slightly different direction when we began. The two of them had to agree what the process was going to be going forward, once they realized there was a discrepancy. I don't really care which process is used, as long as I'm clear on what is expected. Thankfully, they discovered the disconnect early enough on that no major problems needed to be addressed later in the day. About midway through, the area manager for our company arrived with a crew he had had working with him. They had finished early, so had arrived as reinforcements. I really enjoy working with the people he brought. They stayed in the stockroom working with us. Lots of discussion about one of our other clients who had been shut down the day before due to health and safety violations. The manager asked me if I had observed similar issues in their other stores. Uh huh. Hmmmm. One of the other managers talking with me about some of my long-past hospital work experiences, asking about what drove my choices at about the same time. Hmmmm. Again, I stayed behind to help with the variances once the rest of the crew was driven home in the other two vans brought out at the beginning of the day. Covered some missed tags. Most of the time was spent watching the manager work on the software that was used for data collection. Another interesting and instructive shift.
In between some odd dreams. One of being on a luxury boat of some description. Not a big ship either, more like a personal friend's yacht. Definitely only in my dreams, but very pleasant all the same. I love the ocean. At one point it seemed we came to a city that had wide rivers/canals where one could sail into freshwater ports and through the countryside. A very European flavour about the scenery there. That seemed to segue into a visit to a castle - yes, really - that was still occupied by royalty in the present time. We had been invited to stay as guests of the residents - also only in my dreams - engaged in a very pleasant series of activities: tea, tennis and talk. We were about to leave, when we were told there was to be a coronation and that it was important that we stay as witness to the event. What was confusing at that point, was that I clearly saw her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, wearing her crown jewels, in attendance. It was obviously not a coronation of a new British monarch, but must have been occurring in one of the other European capitals. Hmmmm again.
The last dream was very upsetting, in that it seemed to involve one of our counters. They were having an asthma attack so severe, that it seemed they would die. Their lungs had completely seized up. I had my inhaler with me and gave them that to try to open the air passages. It helped as far as the inhalant could travel, but only really opened up their throat a bit. Then, a bit of liquid anti-histamine was dribbled down that small opening, hoping it could help re-open their air passages further down. I was afraid that they were going to choke, since their swallow reflex was also compromised. I could "see" that inside their lungs the bronchioles were still swollen shut and were rock hard. It seemed like an iron band was tightening around their chest. They were starting to lose consciousness. The anti-histamine was starting to help, but the question became - would it be fast enough to save them. I was holding them and trying to get them to do some yoga breaths that could enhance the effects of the drugs, while waiting for the paramedics to arrive. That process did seem to help. It was as though very specific instructions were being given from a hidden source, as a step by step way to help them recover from the attack. There didn't seem to be an epipen (why inject adrenaline anyway when there is that much congestion)available anywhere, which was why the alternate methods had to be tried. I "knew" that the reason for the person's attack was a pollutant in the air that should not have been there. I promised myself that I would find the culprits and hold them accountable, once the person suffering the attack was back on their feet. I finally woke myself up, because it was too distressing to cope with anymore. I wondered if that dream was induced by the earlier discussion with the one manager about the work I had done in the hospital. Part of most of each day had been taken up with assisting in the care of burn patients. In addition, I had also been reading about the devastating fires in Australia, knowing precisely what would have happened to victims of either the smoke inhalation or those who were burned. That news had been bothering me greatly already, so maybe that was the trigger for that dream. Hopefully tonight my dreams will be sweeter and happier than that last one. Good night, dear diary.
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