Mental overload.

Music: "Never Say Goodbye"- Hardwell
12:40p

Raise your glasses, folks. It's Monday. Okay, maybe that's not a good thing for everyone, but for me, it's definitely a good thing. Four days off ahead of me to rest after starting my new job this past weekend. This will be a job like no other I've ever done in my life. There's more to it than just walking along and forever scanning labels...

After a bitter-sweet end to my time as a hauler, Saturday met me with so many unknowns. I found out I was actually supposed to start training the day before, but my manager just could not afford to give me up, as we were a little busy, not to mention short-handed (what else is new there). I started training right away on one of the biggest machines in our fleet: the SP. That thing is intimidating at first, but so was the PE when I took my first spin. You're dealing with limited visibility, and therefore, you have to be more careful. Safety is an even bigger issue. I found that the written test for the SP was MUCH easier than for the PE. You can only miss one question to make a 100, and I missed one. So off to hands-on. Yes, they're crazy for putting me on the largest machine in that warehouse. On the SP, you have to be harnessed in, and being so small  sometimes leaves you at a disadvantage. My trainer and I took off, and I trained on getting a feel for the machine once again in the open area of D dock. The machine doesn't move fast at all, and like the PE, it takes some getting used to. At least I'm not on production, so for once, speed did not matter. The most nerve-wracking part of the training was going up (and by that, I mean ALL the way UP), into the aisles, so high that I could dust the rafters, and probably see my house. My trainer is telling me 'hey look at this view! You can see everything!' Um yeah, that's cool, great. Can we go down now? The height thing will take LOTS of getting used to. I'm alright with heights, depending on how high we're talking. Anything more than 20 stories, and I'll wave at you from the safety of the ground. Just don't look down.....

I drove for the first time on the main aisle, and all the way to A dock, where we worked on turns. Coming out of a turn, the machine stopped dead in its tracks. Great. First day on the machine, and already I'm breaking them. Well that didn't take long. So we had to walk aaaallll the way back to the QA office and grab another SP (and I actually could maneuver that one better), and we were off again. After lunch, I began learning how to back up, and square turns. Once I had that down, it was test time. My trainer wanted me to pull up along the racks, lift up about the third rack up, show them I could easily reach a box, then come back down and turn into the aisle, and come back up and park. I passed, and I was officially licensed. The SP is a little easier than the PE as far as what tasks you can do (the SP doesn't require you to grab pallets, go into trailers, etc), but my God is it hard to see out in front of you. I went ahead and took my last break, and when I came back, I had a new badge waiting for me. I spent the rest of the day doing small tasks; fixing labels on boxes, and taking cases and dropping them off at their correct slots, which required me to get a PE. After being on the SP all day, the PE felt weird, even though it'd just been 24 hours since the last time I'd driven one. I went home, processing what I'd learned. 

Sunday was a little easier. I met one of my managers, and I didn't touch the SP all day. Instead, three of us were shipped across the street first thing. When I walked out to my car, the first light of sunrise was beginning to show. It was beautiful. I was to be taught how to verify freight, and get my first taste of actually working with DTS freight, not just carrying it somewhere. I spent all day with my gun, scanning labels, and helping unloaders when needed, for lack of anything else to do at times. It was so quiet over there. The part that I had to get used to was all the walking required. I'm so out of shape after spending 10 months attached to a machine. So I figured I'd find a PE to get me from one side of the building to the other (we were working in the back), but all I could find was about 50 RR's, and one lone SP. Those words 'good luck trying to find a PE in Phase 1' kept ringing in my head the entire day. What? I was pissed because I had to walk around like a chump. I missed feeling the breeze and not having to walk. haha. I never did find a PE, so I walked around aimlessly, scanning labels. It was super, super hot in that damn building, and we finally got some relief later on when it started pouring down rain. The day was uneventful for the most part, but I learned a lot more. I'm going to be eventually trained how to go into the aisles and do audits, chases and strays (which require mountains of paper work...not looking forward to that aspect), verifying, and working with the handheld doing other tasks. I got off on time, happy to have gotten my hours. I came home and was completely exhausted. I didn't even have the strength to talk. I ended up going to bed early, no use in fighting it. 

I'm not sure how much I'm going to like certain aspects of the job, but it is definitely going to have its advantages. Who knows, in six months, I may stay, I may end up going back to hauling. You never know what could change. I'm doing something different, more detailed, and giving my body a chance to rest and heal itself. I hope I find what I'm looking for....

This week I'm going to try to accomplish some minor things, as we head into August. I can't believe it's here again! Planning out the next couple of months is going to prove a challenge, but will be done! And many opportunities await....

Until next time, folks...