I'm writing this during a mid day break from sleep. I went to the second day labor place in Amarillo, the one where they only process new registrations on Wednesday, and after going back for the delayed 1 PM interview, I was processed in. They asked me if I could take a 9:30 PM job unloading trucks. I agreed.
I got to the site at 9:30, the trucks had been there the night before, they were doing the fixture installs that night. Not a big problem, but I did come a bit overdressed, as I had worn sleeves to protect myself from the cold during the night. A not so great idea, as I was quickly very warm.
Because I was the day laborer and the other guys were on the project team, I was largely the gofer at first. I've done store mods before, though, so building the fixtures was old hat, basically, and we had those knocked out pretty early. As we headed on into the night, though, the less fun work was what was left.
They had me scrubbing tiles to prepare for grouting. I did not bring knee pads, was already getting tired at this point, and my knees became very sore, very quickly. I was able to borrow a pair, but the remaining hours were a reminder that I am not as young as I had used to be. One of the project team was slightly sadistic, and when I got up to work out my knees, asked if I was quitting. He seemed to enjoy watching me, as severely unaccustomed to the job as I was, struggling.
At the end of the night, 8 hours in and a $53 check. I'm still running barely even with expenses on the week, and the idea of having my hours average out to minimum wage was abandoned long ago. I filed my paperwork, and returned to the hotel, very sore and earnestly hoping for this chapter to be over.
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