What can I say ... the past two weeks have been something else! We are in the "picking" department on the night shift. What that means is, we run (almost literally) around this huge plant with a hand scanner. The scanner tells us which section, isle, row, and bin where the desired product is located. We have to scan the bin barcode, our tote (think solid laundry basket) barcode and then the product barcode. This tells the computer that the product has moved out of the bin into the tote. We then put the tote on the conveyor belt where it takes a trip to the pack/ship department. To picture the plant, think of the biggest library you can imagine, with the shelves divided into individual spaces. Row after row after row ..... on the average night, a picker will walk between 10-20 miles picking product from the shelves to be shipped to the customers.
Not hard you say, and you are absolutely correct. One could easily teach an average 10 year old to perform this job. The hard part however, is the fact that one is walking for 10 hours on concrete floors. EVERYONE gets unbelievably tired and sore. However, my feet have really taken a beating. I have come home practically in tears, almost unable to get in the door. My feet hurt so badly after 10 hours on those floors that it makes me sick to my stomach. We are trying to find a solution. By the way, before you tell me to get better shoes, I am on my fourth pair! I am not wearing cheap shoes. We probably spent my first paycheck on shoes and insoles! I have to find a way to get through this. I keep telling myself that we only have 6 more weeks, but then I think "SIX MORE WEEKS??"
Hopefully next time I blog it will be more positive.
Oh, one more thing. After our first week of training, we took a couple of days and went sightseeing ... surprise, surprise, right? We went to Bowling Green and then to Louisville. What is in Bowling Green you might ask? The Corvette Museum! It was quite interesting to read the history of the Corvette, but of course the best part was seeing the exhibits. I have come to realize that for the most part, I really like the older cars better than the newer ones. I loved the 1950s models of the Corvette, just like my favorite Ford is the '56 Thunderbird. Of course I still miss my Mini Cooper but that is a different story! Our trip to Louisville was really just to see Louisville, but we managed to solve a question that has been on our minds for a couple of months. Illinois is "The Land of Lincoln", Indiana boasts it has the boyhood home of Lincoln, and then we get to Kentucky and they claim Lincoln too! We were confused, but we just happened upon his birthplace, and a woman there was able to straighten us out. Here goes: Lincoln was born in Sinking Springs, Kentucky and lived in Kentucky until he was about 7 1/2. The family moved to Indiana where they stayed until he was 21. Then the family moved to Illinois ... this is where he became involved in politics up to and through his presidency. All this to say that all three states can truthfully claim authentic rights to Abraham Lincoln. Gotta love it!
