Log 11: Power Moves
For the first time, I arrived at work knowing exactly how my day would look. At the end of the previous day, Graeme had me start assembling an order of 143 shelves, and I only finished about twenty on the first day, so I just picked up right where I left off. Shelf assembly, which involved tightening over 700 screws, proved to be quite rough on my hands, making me miss the days when gymnastics kept my palms calloused and resilient. During break time, I chatted with José (a Pisces). José is one of Featherlite’s oldest employees, and save for my uncles, he probably knows the place better than anyone. He’s been working here for 37 years, and has seen me around since I was a pretty much a baby. I’ve been thinking it might be interesting to interview some of my co-workers to learn more about their experiences with the company. I tested the idea out on Jose. He said he was receptive to the interview idea, handing me a bag of white cheddar Cheez-its before going back to work.
After I had finished putting together about thirty shelves, Preston walked past me and examined my work. “Are you flaming the edges?” He questioned. I told him that whatever “flaming the edges” meant, to the best of my knowledge I was not doing it. He disappeared into another room and returned a few moments later, carrying a large yellow blowtorch. He showed me how to use it to create a glossy sheen on each assembled shelf by slightly melting the plexiglass surface. “If you keep the flame on the same portion for too long, it might catch fire a little bit,” he warned me. I nodded. “Okay, and what should I do if that happens?” He shrugged. “Snuff it out with your hands.”
I finished up the shelves with about a half hour left in the work day. Although my hands were on fire from tightening screws for seven hours and I really just wanted to call it a day, against my better judgement, I went looking for Graeme to give me one last thing to do. When I found him sitting in his office, he was clearly in the middle of a zoom meeting. As I reflexively began backpedaling out of the room, he motioned for me to come in and sit on a chair next to his desk and listen in on the meeting. I think we’ve established that regardless of the state any chair is in, you’ll never have to ask me twice to stop working and sit in it. This particular chair in Graeme’s office was leather and cushioned, it was an instant contender for the comfiest chair in the office, second only to the forklift seat. A most excellent way to conclude the day.
Highlight: As I tuned into Graeme’s meeting, I could see on his laptop screen that he was the only one out of a group of six people in the zoom meeting with his camera on. What an absolute power move, I thought.
