Last week, I got a new job at UPS as a package handler. The hours were crazy, but I thought, what the hell, it will be a good experience. Besides having SO MANY benefits (tuition reimbursement, insurance, days off, etc.), it was something that I wanted to try. So I went in for my first interview, second, and then got the job.
2:15 am- *Tirade of swear words*, Why am I up this early? Why am I doing this to myself? How am I going to live on 4 hours of sleep? I only went to bed at 10 pm, that is not even early. *More swearing*
2:25 am- *Leaving for work*. People are getting home from the bars right now. This sucks.
3:00 am- *Gets to work*.
3:15 am- Well only 5 more hours.
Between 3:15 am and 4:30 am, time flies. Too tired to function, but it still feels like second nature. Get the packages off of the conveyor belt, separate them into loads for each of your three trucks, write the number they are organized by on the side, organize them on the truck between the numbers 1000-8999, repeat. It is like Tetris on 'Expert' level. But instead of being tiny bricks, they are 5 to 75 pound packages.
4:30 am- Wow these packages are piling up. People order so much stuff online.
4:50 am- How do they have so much money? They actually are never ending.
4:51 am- Where are they even coming from??
5:00 am- *The lull when they switch trucks out*. Make inappropriate jokes with the guys on the Orange Belt. Watch massive spiders in the warehouse catch giant crane flies. Cheer loudly. Drink some water and immediately regret it because if you use the bathroom, you will get back to SO MANY packages waiting to be sorted and loaded.
5:25 am- During the interview, they said it was fast paced. I did not believe them then. But now I do.
5:40 am- Five more minutes until break. So close, yet so far.
5:45 am- Finally. Everyone piles out of the warehouse clutching energy drinks and coffee.
5:55 am- Back to work. Yay.
At this point, I am so worn out that it seems like time is going backwards. Morale is low. I do not know if I will make it out. But after more long hours, I am finally done. Cars are loaded, drivers arrive, people all around Seattle will get their packages on time, and I am free. Free to go sleep for the rest of the day, then wake up and do it all again tomorrow.
Even though I have a long 5 hours of work, by 8:15 am when I get off, I feel great. Tired and sore as hell, but by the time most people go to work, I have accomplished so much and feel so great.
