Music: 1234 (Original Mix)- Laidback Luke
11:12a
Happy Memorial Day! :D
What a week it's been. Seems things are finally winding down now, and I can focus on more important things: my health, my job and taking that next step towards freedom, in so many ways. But as always, it has to get worse before it gets better, and this past weekend was the perfect example. This weekend's theme: Anything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong, and will keep going wrong until the cycle runs its course.
Friday wasn't so bad. I was working alone, which didn't bother me so much. I like being able to go at my own pace. The boxes themselves were fairly light, and I didn't have to wrestle with metal racks this time. They are nothing short of a total bitch to work with. I had some boxes that could not be stacked to where they would not wobble and fall over. There was no way to 'interlock' them. The boxes were stacked 14 high, and that pretty much meant that I had to wrap the pallet right there in the trailer, every few rows to keep the boxes from falling. I pulled one pallet, very slowly up to the front, so I could be under the fan and get some cool air. It was pretty hot in there at this point in the day. I was coming around the corner with the wrap, when I slammed into the side of the trailer. I was going pretty fast, too, trying to get the bottom of the pallet covered. I had slammed my left shoulder into the hard metal wall. It was one of those things where your entire body just freezes, because the only thing your brain can register is pain. Holy hell did that hurt! I swear to God I hit that fucking wall at 60 miles an hour. So I called my manager Eric and let him know what happened, but I didn't report it as a medical. I told Eric that I usually pull the pallets out and wrap them on the dock floor if possible, and he saw the type of box I had, and understood. First lesson of the weekend learned: always pay attention to where you are going!
I brushed it off and kept going, being more careful of course, and I finally finished the trailer around 4:30. Eric was about to send me home, but at the last minute decided to send me and another guy to shipping. That was the first time I'd been over there on my regular shift. So we made the long walk over to the other side, chatting about work and schedules. The manager over there had us taking poles off of the metal racks and putting them away. We did that for the last hour of the day, walking up and down C dock putting away the poles. Day one done.
*sigh* Saturday...Saturday was a day out of the Twilight Zone. Or maybe it was just one of those days where the powers that be above decided to target me. They have a wicked sense of humor.
I was in too good a mood on Saturday morning, and I knew it was going to come back and bite me in the ass. Boy was I right! I was in too good of a mood to have the day go smoothly. After our meeting I got my door assignment. I was all the way on the opposite end of D dock. My packet had no information on the item I was working with, nor did it have the weight listed. That's when I got a bad feeling. That feeling when you know that things are about to go downhill, that the shit is about to hit the fan.
On the way to my door, I dropped my water canister. It fell off the cart I was pushing and broke the lid. I was annoyed about that. Had the thing two weeks and already it's broken. I didn't even pay for the thing. Ugh. That was nothing. Passing up my friend who'd already started on his door, I saw he was going to need a can opener, meaning, someone to come and open the other door to the trailer. Here I am thinking 'wow, I haven't had to deal with one of those for a while.' Right then, I knew I shouldn't have thought that. They are a bitch, because the last time I needed a can opener, I waited an hour before they could come open the door.
So I finally make it to my door, and open it to take a look. And what do I find? You guessed it, the trailer was only half open, and I was going to need a fricken can opener. Ugh! The boxes themselves were heavy, but manageable, and I didn't have to stack them very high. The can opener only took 10 minutes this time, and back to work I went. Jamie Lynn, this day is going to be good, you're going to show this trailer who's boss, and finish and put yet another day behind you. How else do unloaders make it through a day?!
I was ready to pull in my next pallet, and I went up to the stack to pull it down. You're supposed to pull them down a certain way, especially when they are stacked so high. So as I was bringing one down, idiot me wasn't aware of where my feet were. Next thing I know, there's a huge explosion of pain, I swear to God I saw stars. The pallet had come right down on top of my right foot. I sat down on one of the pallets looking for someone. Bad thing was, I was down on the very far end of the building, where there's hardly any machine/driver traffic, and the closest people to me were two doors down. But I saw a head towering over the pallets and noticed Sonia was on a PE machine. I called her name as loud as I could. She saw me but didn't notice I was trying to flag her down, so I called her name again. She came around the stacks of pallets and noticed I was hurt and asked if I was okay. Poor girl must have panicked. I asked her to call someone. My foot hurt like nothing I'd ever felt before, and I was totally numb.
I'm not sure who Sonia called, but I swear a SWAT team dropped from the ceiling. Two managers showed up in a golf cart, two SIRT team members (safety team) showed up, medical bags ready to go, and Margie showed up on a PE machine. Where do the SIRT members hide? Do they come out of the walls? Last time I called SIRT for my partner when she got hurt, they were there in like two minutes. I've always been curious. So the two SIRT's checked me over, and the managers asked me what happened. I know Eric was there, but I'm not sure the other guy. Shelton, or it might have been Milton. I couldn't move any of my toes, and the area under my big toenail was already turning black and blue. I was upset at this point..pissed at my stupidity, and the fact that there went any chances of me finishing this trailer today. Leave it to me to be worried about my job when I was in a world of pain.
One of the SIRT's, Jonathon, got an instant ice pack going, and helped me into the golf cart. He took me up to the front office (why do I feel like I was back in grade school?). I sat down, and the second SIRT made me a better ice pack, and got a chair that I could prop my foot on, and reminded me of the '20 minute' rule: 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off with the ice. So there I sat in the office, filling out paperwork, and applying the ice. Eric came and checked on me off and on. I was finally able to move my toes after about an hour, and breathed a huge sigh of relief that I hadn't broken anything. I was bored and lonely sitting in that office. :( I wanted to go back to work! Around 11, Eric came in and checked on me again. I told him I would try to go back and see how much work I could get done. The lady at the desk was nice enough to give me a ride in her cart back down to my dock.
I managed to get a pallet and half done, hobbling along and watching every step I took. By then it was time to head up front for lunch, so I limped my way across two docks to the breakroom. I grabbed a sandwich out of the machine so I wouldn't have to stand and wait for a microwave. My foot was hurting really bad by this point, even without any pressure being put on it, and I couldn't even put my full weight on my foot. So after lunch, I went up to the desk and sat and waited for Eric. I let him know that there was no way I could work like that, limping around and knowing I wouldn't be able to get any work done. Plus, the fact that there was a possibility of injuring it even more, meaning I'd probably have to go to the doctor, not to mention a drug test. Ugh! So after a few minutes, Milton paid me another visit and said it was okay if I went home. He completely understood, plus he informed me that the receiving area was ahead of schedule (something I hadn't heard in weeks), and not to worry. I hate admitting defeat, and I hate not being able to work even more....so if you're keeping score: trailer-1. Me-0. Lesson two: always be aware of where your feet are! Or you might lose a toe. Or a foot. Or your sanity.
I remembered I had left my stuff down on my door, so I figured I'd slowly make my way over and grab my stuff. I had made it maybe two doors down from the desk when I ran into Margie. I told her I was going home to take care of my foot, and she asked did someone not offer to give me a ride. She had me wait while she went and grabbed a golf cart. Margie drove me down to grab my stuff, and I found they had put one of the newer guys on my trailer. He asked me what happened, and said he hoped I'd be okay. Margie drove me all the way up to the front office so I could clock out. That was really nice of her. Don't ask me how I made the drive home....
I spent the rest of the day soaking my foot in epsom salt, and playing the ice game. Hey at least I caught the race on tv! I was never more happy to put that day behind me..hope the powers that be got it all out of their system. :P
Yesterday, when I woke up, I found I was able to put my full weight on my foot, the first time I'd been able to do so in nearly 24 hours. I went to work and managed better than I thought. The trailers were a mixed bag of things, and myself and another girl were assigned a trailer with tarps. Those were pretty heavy, and one box just grazed my injured toe, but didn't hurt it. Every second I was aware of where my foot was. I didn't let the pallets intimidate me. We finished the trailer and went about housekeeping. Day three, done! With no injuries!
I'm done for another week! Yay! I'm four months in officially, two more to go! I see a small light at the end of the tunnel haha. If you stuck it out and read all of this (and it was long I know), then I appreciate it! Hopefully the powers that be have moved on..surely I've been tortured enough! :P
Ah, yes..that moment when you can laugh it off and keep going. Lesson three: always keep positive and know that things have to get worse before they get better.
I believe I'm on the right path..... :)
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