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Thursday, September 25, 2014

Week Five Update

Location: Campbellsville, KY (High 81, Low 57)

We’ve made it through another work week! When we arrived back at the end of August, we found out that there was going to be a bit of a work slow down through the month of September. There are a couple new facilities and some of the product that comes into the fulfillment center here in Campbellsville was being redirected there. It was announced at yesterday’s morning startup meeting that the redirect process ends next week and then the work will start ramping back up in preparation for peak. VTO (voluntary time off) was offered every day over the past work week, but we stuck it out and stayed every time. A lot of people left, even many campers. On Monday at the afternoon startup meeting there were three people left in the Receive department – the two of us and one fulltime employee. The nice thing about that is that there’s been plenty of work to keep us busy for the rest of the shift, so we haven’t yet been stuck with scraping tape or cleaning.

Our days have settled into a familiar rhythm. Most work days I get up between 3:30 and 4 am. Watch a little tv while I drink my coffee…then make our lunch, have a little something to eat and get ready to go to work. We leave for work around 5:30 am. Even though there are lights, it’s dark enough when we’re walking over that I can see the night sky with all the stars which is very beautiful. We clock in at 5:55 and the fun begins! In the afternoon, by the time we clock out, gather our stuff and walk home, it’s about 4:45 so we’re basically gone for 12 hours of the day. At that point we have just about enough energy to take a shower and eat our dinner. I usually head for bed between 7 and 7:30, because by that time I am whipped. Don’t those sound like exciting days?! You can see why work starts to feel like life during the peak weeks – when you’re following that schedule for 6 days out of 7! (Harry and I do plan to do the 60s again this year. Even though we will be very tired at the end of it, it’s only for a couple weeks.)

This morning we begin our three days of rest. Time to catch up on a few of the new shows that started this past week and do a few chores….

Next up - week six out of the twelve weeks we have left!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Four Work Weeks Down

Location: Campbellsville, KY (High 83, Low 54)

It’s been a good couple of weeks since I last posted. Work is going well. Harry and I are working on the sort line most of the time, and while it’s a very physical job, we are doing pretty well. Last year I had a huge issue with my fingers going numb during the night, mainly due to the tightness of the muscles in my shoulders. I’ve been trying to stay on top of the muscle issue this year. I’ve been using a muscle gel and icing as well, which seems to be keeping the worst of it at bay. And I’ve discovered that wearing a light wrist brace during the night also helps to keep my fingers from going numb. So between all of those methods I’ve been able to keep myself sleeping pretty well and feeling pretty good.

So far, we’ve been pretty good about avoiding restaurants too much. We did go out for lunch today, before heading to the grocery store. I know better than to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach!! :) We have one more day off tomorrow and I am going to cook a couple meals to help cover our work days.

Our running is going very well. I was a little apprehensive about whether we were going to be able to keep it up with only a few days off each week, but so far we have. The four days that we work I count as cross training, and then we get out there on the other days. Yesterday we ran 6 miles, and this morning we did 3. Tomorrow we will do another 6 or maybe 7 depending on how tired we feel. We also found a great off the road walking trail today only a couple miles from the campground. So tomorrow morning we plan to go do our run there.

The campground is filling up slowly. We’ve only had a couple other rigs come into our section. Our next door neighbor is George from Owens on the Road. George, Harry and I took a ride over to tour Makers Mark Bourbon Distillery last Saturday but I haven’t had a chance to upload my pictures from that day yet. I’m more a fruity rum drink and wine kind of girl, but the tour was pretty interesting. The tasting at the end didn’t make me change my mind either, but it was still a fun way to spend an afternoon.

One more weekend day to enjoy and then we’re on to Week FIVE. Thirteen weeks to go!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Two Weeks!

Location: Campbellsville, KY (High 86, Low 69)

Today is the first day of our “weekend” and believe it or not, we already have two work weeks at Amazon under our belts! The work has been going really well. Our legs have been much less sore than last year, which I attribute to the many miles of running that we have done over the past 8 months. I have had a little soreness in my arms and hands, but I am trying to keep on top of it by doing more frequent stretches and icing. So far, so good.

We are working in Receiving again, which we are enjoying. We are working with most of the same people from last year, and it’s just nice to not have to go through the “getting to know you” phase with every single person. We are mostly spending our time on the Receive Dock – emptying trucks and bringing in product. But both Harry and I have learned a few new jobs as well, which will serve us well on those days when the work is low and there may not be as much to do. Speaking of, on our four day shift this past week they offered VTO (voluntary time off), three out of the four days. Both Harry and I elected to stay but we were in the extreme minority. Out of the first two week’s Camperforce groups, only a few people have been placed in Receiving, so when they offer VTO and most of the full time employees take it, that leaves about 5 people working in Receive (that’s including Harry and me). All three days though there was plenty of work to do. Since almost everyone else left. haha

We worked on Labor Day, and Amazon provided a really delicious rib eye steak sandwich with a selection of chips and sodas for lunch. It was really yummy. That is one thing that Amazon does really well in my opinion. Yes, the work is very physical, but I have never worked for an employer that provides occasional lunches, snacks for breaks, drawings for prizes, and other similar extras that I can’t think of more examples for at the moment!

On the home front things have been good. I have made two crockpot meals so far, and it was so convenient to come home and have dinner ready. This morning Harry and I went for a morning run for the first time since we got here. I am encouraged that we are going to be able to stay in shape for our half marathon in January.

We had a vet appointment for Ariel this morning. On her annual checkup in August, the vet indicated that she had an issue with tartar and gingivitis. We made the appointment too late to have anything done about it in NY though, so when we got to Campbellsville, I did a search for an AAHA (American Animal Hospital Association) accredited vet and found one 15 minutes away from our park. We were really pleased with the vet that examined Ariel this morning, and will be taking her back next week for a cleaning. Assuming that our experience next week is as positive, we are actually thinking about transferring the cats to this facility permanently for their annual checkups etc. When we thought about it we realized that we spend more time out of the year here than we do any one place in NY in the summer. One less thing to do up in NY!

Two weeks down, 15 to go!