worklife
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We’re prepping for our annual inventory at the home, farm and auto supply store. That means counting and labeling everything in the warehouse, and getting every possible item to the sales floor where hired staff can count it and customers can find it to buy it. Inventory occupies a big space in the life of… Read more
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It’s 48 days until full retirement and I can’t wait to let loose from the lowly paid work that has sustained us for over two years. Completely ceasing work is not now, nor will it ever be in the cards. Work is what keeps us bound to our common humanity. To stop is to give… Read more
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It’s sixty nine days until what I hope is my last day of work at the home, farm and auto supply store… and “full retirement.” The paradigm upon which we based our life in Big Grove shifted. We settled here to be close to work, raise our daughter, and live happily ever after. Our home… Read more
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“Each moment is different from any before it. Each moment is different, it’s now.”~ Incredible String Band Best wishes for a happy 2018! The ambient temperature is 23 degrees below zero outside, the kind of winter we expect in the Midwest. The cold snap should and hopefully will last a week or more. If we’re… Read more
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One of my work buddies is a mechanic and Vietnam veteran. He was a mechanic during the war although it’s his brother who now operates an auto shop in the county seat. He is active in the American Legion and has a reputation as a curmudgeon. I find myself pointing out I’m older than he… Read more
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This year a group of Ukrainians with temporary work visas joined us at the orchard. They were hard-working and fun to be around. Their contracted wage far exceeds the $185 per month they can earn in Ukraine from their trained profession as English teachers. The visa sets a specific hourly rate of pay and the… Read more
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The desultory nature of lowly paid work is a grind. That’s what I found yesterday upon returning to the home, farm and auto supply store after a four-day vacation. By afternoon I was ready for a nap but instead scratched at the stacks of piled up work and made a day of it. I won’t… Read more
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It’s a crash landing after the apple harvest and a summer working almost every day at the orchard or the home, farm and auto supply store. Time to sleep, read and rest. Four days off work is not enough to fully recuperate but it’s what I have. Saturday was mostly at home resting, then cooking.… Read more
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My mobile device lived in this locker for 3,960 hours since I began working at the home, farm and auto supply store. Carrying our devices with us while at work is not allowed and that’s fine with me. There is no need for a human to be constantly connected to social media, email and news,… Read more
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