New Friends, Lots of Work, and Sore Feet!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Just how long is a ten hour work day? Long enough to walk 10-15+ miles in an Amazon Fulfillment Center! Today we are sitting with our feet up in the RV. We finished our first four-10 hour day week. It was pretty grueling, but we are both surprised that we aren't as sore as we (I) expected to be. I finally heard a few complaints from Greg when we got home last night, but overall, we survived.


Combining the learning curve with that much walking is also tiring. We are learning a very precise work system and culture that allows for no deviation or mistakes. Your handheld scanner knows where you are, (except the bathroom!) and what you are doing the whole day. There are two huge picking modules at both ends of the building. Most of the workcampers are in the Eastmod with us. It consists of four floors and on each floor, a grid-work of stacked cardboard bins, the highest bins needing to be reached with a ladder, and the bottom row on the floor. There are about 250 aisles and an equal amount of rows running perpendicular in a big square. On each floor you find a pushcart and put 2-3 bins on its shelves and the scanner sends you off in a direction to say, row 178 and bin H625. The ends of rows have numbers to find your directions by, so it is a little like looking for a street and then a house number. Note from Greg: I measured the building from satellite photos on Google Earth and it covers over 24 acres and much of the building has four floors. So searching the rows and aisles adds up to many miles!


When you find your bin, the fun begins. Amazon has a system whereby the stowers put things into random bins, so when you pull out a bin you may be confronted by two large puffy coats, 3 packages of tube socks, several oxford shirts, three corsets, a bikini bottom, four wallets, two pairs of jeans, several Star Wars t-shirts, eight Green Bay Packers knit caps, two slinky jersey evening gowns, and two packages of baby sleepers.??? You were sent by the scanner to find the sealed in plastic bikini bottom and finally discover it near the back and bottom of the bin in between the Star Wars t-shirts. Scan it quickly, since you are being timed and head on to the next item which is often many rows away. Your next pick often brings you back again near the same neighborhood as your previous pick. When the totes are full you need to walk to one of the two conveyor belts and send them off.


There is much speculation among workcampers during breaks about the seeming randomness of everything. We've all had sessions where we spent all our time going long distances up and back and to the far flung corners of the mod, only to return there again. The only explanations we can come up with are that we are picking for a new order that has come in for Amazon Prime customers whose orders must go out overnight and can't wait for the regular picking process, or keeping everyone constantly on the move keeps us from bogging down and socializing with people picking in the same spot. Mixing the items in the bins sometimes makes them easier to spot and usually only one item in the size is in the bin, so you can spot it and not need to check the size. But, sometimes you open a bin and it is filled with the same items and you have to read every size label to find the requested one. So many questions and no answers!


In addition to learning the system and trying to increase our picking speed, we began to bond with our fellow workcampers. We all take our hurried breaks and lunch together, and since we are the last bunch here and the earlier arriving workcampers have already joined together, we sit with our orientation group. There are several couples, some singles, and several 20-somethings. We've spent most of our time with Lyle and Linda, who have been on the road 12 years, and Mike and Teri, who have one year under their belts. We are getting to know some other workcampers, and a few of our workcamping neighbors at Silver Lake, although everyone is working hard and with the cold weather no one is outside socializing at the campground.


Next week we are working Wednesday through Saturday, but the plant is bumping up to 11 hour days on Black Friday and starting at 6:30! Workcampers are given the option of staying at 10 hours. Cyber Monday week, the following week, everyone goes to five days a week. I have been getting up at 5:45 already. I find it hard to fall asleep at night after the stimulating day even though I am really tired.


We have four more weeks to go, so with an end in sight I will push myself. This challenge is important to me. I have set a goal during our travels of physically challenging myself after a lifetime of not pushing the limits and a fear of physical activity. Emotional stress tires me out fast, but in this job I am only stressing myself physically and it feels good to push on through. I am getting adequate sleep, eating healthy, staying hydrated and snacking and sitting down every few hours. I know I'll be really tired when we are done, but I will probably lose a few pounds, be more fit, and have some money to show for my efforts. I'll let you know if I am still this upbeat when we get to the end!


Enjoy the photos from previous visits to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park where we will volunteer after Christmas for three months! I will be working in the ranger office and Greg will be working outside mowing, cutting firewood, or other "fun" work. (Note from Greg: I want to drive the Swamp Buggy!)

Greg's Swamp Buggy?

Ferocious Deer

Crested Caracara

Resting after at grueling 17-inch hill climb!

12-foot Lap-gator

Kathleen celebrating a vigorous bike ride!

Grumpy water moccasin does not want to share the trail.

Anhinga!

Big-Ass Spider with a 20-foot web between the palms.