No Homework, No Interest

from Camille and Lucy Arnez

To me "day job" means No Homework. A job that doesn't follow you into the shower, doesn't stay in your head no matter what else you're doing. A job where you clock out at the end of a shift and never give it a moment's thought until you clock in the next day. Your evenings are free for family, friends, hobbies, entertainment. All you have to do to get ready for the next day is pack a lunch and be sure you have clean socks.

I've had only one day job in my adult life, and it was miserable.  

I was in a 'tween time, nearly 40, getting a divorce from the Catholic Church (no alimony). My first choice, a teaching position, was hard to come by, so I took a job at a factory that made washers.

Day after day, I sat at a belt, in front of a heavy duty industrial punch, with a woman on my left, who fed me long strips of plastic, and a woman on my right who took my punched-out washers and packaged them. I forget how. (That's how it is with real day jobs; there's no reason to remember details.)

Sometimes I'd forget this was only a day job, and ask questions. Where do these washers end up? How are they used? Is there an endless need for this size washer? Is there a better way to do this job? No one knew. No one cared. Not even the foreman. Certainly not my colleagues on the line.

A top-heavy silver wagon came by at 10 am with breakfast pastry, at noon with sandwiches, and at 3 with afternoon snacks. A whistle blew to start the day, at the beginning and end of breaks, and at the end of the shift. I'd never been so bored and haven't been since.

I'd been hired through a temp service and I was good at it (i.e., so bored that I worked faster than anyone there). The foreman told me he was willing to pay the agency to bring me on as a permanent employee.

I believe that's what frightened me into more aggressive shopping for a job that would keep me busy both day and night. Next stop: a stint as a paralegal. Not a day job. I had homework again. Like physics. Like teaching. Like writing.

I realize things could have been worse at that washer factory. Like this, for example.

 

Comments

[Liz]

Your post reminded me of Corrie ten Boom's description, in The Hiding Place, of her job in the radio factory at Vught. The prisoner-foreman assigned Corrie a more difficult job, as she was the only person who, having completed her task, followed the parts through the entire process. The foreman sometimes had to slow her down and even had to remind her to sabotage parts. There is something to be said for leaving a job at the office, but stupefying work is deadening.

[Jessica Haight]

I love this scene! Brought me back to when I was a kid! ~ Jess (I always show up as my main character, Fairday Morrow- lol, haven't quite figured out how to fix that!)

[Staci]

Great story! Reminds me of the article I just read in the paper about a woman who works at a Butterball factory. She sits on a stool all day and watches raw turkeys go by on a conveyor belt (102 per minute!), pulling out the ones that are bruised or disfigured. One day of that work, and I'd never eat turkey again!

[Camille Minichino]

I can't imagine replacing the washers with raw turkeys. I'm glad it's now AFTER Thanksgiving!

[Susan C Shea]

As soon as you began to describe your time on the assembly line, I remembered that Lucy scene, a classic! Glad you only had one experience like that. Mine was in the post office, where my father got me a Christmas job between college semesters. They started me sorting mail, but since the post office intended to deliver Christmas cards BEFORE the new year, they re-assigned me after half a day!

[Priscilla]

Reminds me of a couple of temp jobs I had: measuring grains of sand was one; addressing envelopes for Saks ( with my handwriting, I was not invited back...). My fav was putting certain forms in order, stapling and filing, for the credit dept of a major oil company. After that, is it any wonder I drive a Prius?

[מוצרי פלסטיק]

I believe that's what terrified me into more competitive purchasing for a job that would keep me fast paced both day and evening. I had groundwork again like science, training and composing it.

[דפוס משי]

The foreman sometimes had to slowly her down and even had to tell her to aspects components. There is something to be said for making a job at the workplace, but stupefying perform is deadening.