Dear Blog-ary

Hi folks, how's your day going?

Mine was pretty quiet. I went to sleep last night at 11, which is usually when I'd be working, but on my days off I  usually sleep at night, it's a pretty long, lonely night when no one else is awake lol. Most of the day today I've just been on the computer playing around in Facebook, just sorta relaxing and enjoying my Sunday.

I feel like if I'm writing here every day that it's kinda like writing in a diary, but since this is a blog, I figured it would be better to call it a "blog-ary". But, since I'm not talking to my blog per se, I'm not sure that's apt. Anyway, it was a thought, one I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with.

I start back on a new work week in a few hours, and tonight I will be working with only one other person, normally we have at least 3 people, most times 4. The work required to get a Walmart floor scrubbed and buffed and swept in the 8 hours we have to do it really requires 3 people, so with only 2, it means I will be very busy. I don't mind that at all though, as it will make my shift go quickly, and I also have the added feeling of accomplishment that I more or less did the job myself. That's "my" floor when I'm there, my baby, and when I leave in the morning with it shining brightly, I feel good.

The weather has been cool of late, which I love, I'm looking forward to winter. I love to see the leaves still on the trees change over to the yellow and red and even brown, and the cooler temps really feel good. Since I work at night, I haven't really had to deal with the heat of the summer as much as in previous years, but trust me, even at 2 in the morning it's pretty warm and muggy in the middle of summer. The trash run in the parking lot can be pretty stifling, and add to that the atrocious smell of warm, wet garbage, coupled with the sheer weight of the bags, and it can get pretty uncomfortable to be out there. The one up side to being outdoors while working is that it pretty much affords you a free smoke break. No one ever checks to see if the maintenance guy is smoking outside while he's collecting garbage, and even if they did, I doubt they would frown upon it, as long as the trash is taken care of.

That's one thing I think I like the most about my job, as being a part of the maintenance crew I have a certain level of autonomy. The management doesn't keep up with what we're doing very much, they check at the beginning of the night to see who's there to work, and tell us what they want us to accomplish, but after that we're pretty much on our own. We can wander the store freely, talk with other associates as we make our rounds with the dust mops or scrubber or buffer, it's a really laid back environment. The stockers on the other hand are stuck in a specific department, with management checking pretty often to see if they are getting their freight put up in the time they were allotted, there's a bit of pressure there that being on the maintenance crew I just don't have. As long as the floor is done before 7 a.m., the management leaves us alone for the most part, and that's the way I like it.

What's funniest about my job is how much the place changes from night to day. It's like a completely different store. At night things look different, when there is only artificial light from above, but when morning comes and the sunlight comes through the skylights it makes the floor shine more, the displays seem brighter, and of course with the arrival of customers there's an activity level shift, I mean at night, between the hours of 1 and 5, there's nothing. Some days I go shopping after I clock out, and it's really funny to see product on the shelves that I didn't notice the night before because all I was doing was staring at the floor. It's pretty amazing, I go down an aisle I just got done sweeping or scrubbing or buffing just hours before, and I say "Wow, I didn't know we had that!". I'm concentrating on my work while I'm there so much that I don't stop for a second to see what's on the shelf, so it's kinda neat to go around later on like I've never shopped there before. I work at Walmart at night, but I shop a completely different Walmart during the day, it's pretty cool.

Well folks it's time for me to close and get myself ready to go do my job, I hope you all sleep well, and get up tomorrow well rested and ready to go do that voodoo that you do.......I just love that saying lol.