My Passionate French Accent

Every morning, the sanitation crews have a meeting where we discuss what time each production line is finished for the day and, subsequently, in which order we will be cleaning them. For whatever reason, our supervisors decided to give us a pep talk. The busy summer period is winding down, so I think they were trying to keep everyone's energy up.

Anyway, they kept saying that our job is the most important job in the factory. If we don't clean the machines thoroughly and properly, the ice-cream product could be contaminated, it could have to be thrown away, and we may not be able to fill merchant orders. Additionally, there is the fact that if we don't clean the machines as well as we should and a contaminated product slips through testing, someone could become seriously ill or even die.

They kept emphasizing how someone, specifically a child, could die as a result. One supervisor started getting really aggressive, but another one tried to bring the pep talk back into being motivational instead of overbearing. The aggressive supervisor caught onto this and switched his tune, saying that we were "artists" and "professionals" and that we needed to be "passionate" about what we do.

Passionate? That seems like a very strong word. I understand what he was trying to get across, that we need to take pride in what we do and do our best every day, but "passion" seems like a bit much. I sure don't wake up in the morning, thinking "I can't wait to go and clean today! It's my favorite thing to do in the whole wide world!" and I doubt anyone else does, either.

Anyway, I don't think the pep talk worked. After the meeting, everyone from sanitation went and collectively looked at the job board. When a need arises in different departments around the company, the job is posted on a board so people are aware of it and able to apply if they so desire. Well, it looked like everyone in sanitation is considering a different job. I thought that was hilarious. The pep talk backfired hardcore.

But maybe the pep talk wasn't a complete waste. I did try to clean more thoroughly, and I even made a song to help myself stay motivated. Each week, someone is assigned to clean the floor drains which are at each production line, and it just so happened to be my turn. So, while I was scrubbing the drains, I came up with this little jingle :
I go to the drain
With my bucket of bubbles
All the bacteria
Is in for some trouble
I'm passionate about what I do
Watch out, germs, you're dead
I'm coming for you

Furthering my attempt to inspire some passion in me, I sung this in a French accent. There is, perhaps, no other nation with such a passionate populus as the French, so I thought it was appropriate to try and channel their zeal through mimicking their accent. It didn't really work. It just helped me amuse myself. But I'll take what I can get.

Daily Ice-Cream Intake :
1/8 Gallon - Birthday Cake Ice-Cream, 1/4 Gallon - Cookies N Cream Ice-Cream, 2 Orange Sherbet Push-Ups, 2 Chocolate Crunch Bars

(see also The Summer of Free Ice-Cream)

Silly Noise

Oh, goodness me. The pressure hoses I use to rinse the machines never stop giving me problems. On top of the issues I have previously shared with you (see In The Face), it would be a shame if I did not also explain how touchy the nozels of these hoses can be. Let me provide you with an example.

Today, I was assigned to clean a stairwell. It's a fairly small stairwell, but it is used frequently. Thus, while I was pre-rinsing, scrubbing, final rinsing, and squeegee-ing these stairs, which takes about ten minutes, 30 or 35 people used them. That averages out to 3 or 4 people a minute, or someone forcing me to pause my work and stand aside while they track new debris through the areas I had just cleaned about every fifteen to twenty seconds. Kind of frustrating.

Anyway, in order to pre-rinse the stairs, I had to grab one of these treacherous hoses and haul it all the way to the top of the stairwell. Now, these hoses are very heavy duty, and, thus, weigh a lot. It's not that it's not difficult for me to carry the hose, but I tell you this because when I got to the top of the stairs, I needed to set the hose down, but if I put it on the ground, it would have slid down the stairs and possibly tripped someone. So, being the genius I am, I decided to hook the the hose around the hand banister. I thought this a great idea. It's just that the way I hooked the hose around the banister forced the nozzle trigger to engage and send a thick spray of scalding water in a high arch down the stairwell . . . as two people were coming up.

It was a man and a woman. The man made no noise whatsoever, but the woman let out a loud whelp of surprise. Luckily, the two were just out of reach of the spray.

The man said my name in a shocked way and asked me what I was doing. Trying to diffuse my embarrassment by cracking a jock, I responded that he and the woman looked dirty and needed a shower and that I was just trying to keep the ice-cream from being contaminated by helping them clean up.

The woman scampered away before she could hear my joke and the man gave me a blank stare.

But I say it was all worth it just to hear that woman yelp. I might have to learn this woman's work schedule, figure out when she will use those stairs, and recreate this stair shower. But, of course, the next time I will have a video camera discretely documenting everything so I can put it on YouTube and the world will also be able to enjoy the silly noise this woman makes.

Daily Ice-Cream Intake :
1/4 Gallon - Tin Roof Sundae, 3 Ice-Cream Candy Bars, 2 Strawberry Crunch Bars

 (see also The Summer of Free Ice-Cream (A Running Tally))

The Ice-Cream Hell Tunnel

I have had many frustrations with my job at the ice-cream factory since it began, but I've tried to set them aside and put on a happy face. But now that I only have two and a half weeks left before I quit, the frustrations I've tried to keep to a minimum have been getting more difficult to ignore since I can see the light at the end of this ice-cream hell tunnel. Today, I came very close to walking out mid-shift. I almost stormed out of that place, never to return. The key word is "almost". I didn't quit, and today's entry will revolve around the reasons to quit and the reasons to keep working.

REASONS TO QUIT :

- I get water sprayed in my face all the time (see In The Face), and it gets very old.
- My feet are always wet and uncomfortable for some unknown reason (see The Mystery of the Wet Pants).
- I work with people that make me uncomfortable (see El Cholo).
- I don't technically need the money I would earn if I continued working since I have saved up quite a bit already and have enough to cover my living expenses during the coming school year thanks to those wonderful things we call federal and private student loans.
- I normally don't work this much in the summer. For me, summer is time to have fun and take trips. I haven't done any of that all summer because of this job.
- I have developed a video game purchasing addiction. Over the past few weeks, I kept buying video games on eBay for great prices and need to start playing them.
- I have hardly scratched the surface of my summer reading list.
- The protective glasses I am required to wear over my prescription glasses are too big and are constantly sliding down my face, forcing me to push about three hundred times a day.
- Said protective glasses hurt my forehead, bride of my nose, and ears all at the same time.
- Said protective glasses are constantly steaming up due to the hot water I have to spray.
- No one I have spoken to enjoys their job at the ice-cream factory and it's difficult to enjoy a job in such a negative atmosphere.
- I have been coming up with many ideas for short stories but have not had the time to work on them.
- I promised to make my brother a painting and need time to do that before I move.
- I could use more time to hunt for a job in Boston.
- It's always difficult to work at a job when you know you're quitting, especially when you're moving on to bigger and better things.
- My blog entries about the ice-cream factory have not been very popular. Readership has plummeted.

REASONS TO STAY :

- Even though the money isn't necessary, it would be nice to be just that much more financially secure.
- The free ice-cream.

After thinking about it, I have decided to work one more week and quit a week earlier than expected. Looking at my list, which is not comprehensive by any means, there are two categories the reasons can be separated into. A) Work suckiness, and B) Wanting to do other things. To be honest, I think both categories hold an even weight over my decision. The job sucks and I have many other things I would rather be doing. And, really, what is one week? Well, it's $400 to $450, but, eh. I'd rather be happy and accomplishing things rather than working all day and being miserable.

Daily Ice-Cream Intake :
1/8 Gallon Chocolate and Caramel Ice-Cream, 1/4 Gallon Birthday Cake Ice-Cream, 2 Strawberry Crunch Ice-Cream Bars, 1 Vanilla and Hot Fudge Waffle Cone, 1 Orange Sherbet Push-Up

(see also The Summer of Free Ice-Cream (A Running Tally))