Two Weeks Notice

~Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.

~Robert Fulghum

I just have to tell you about my day. It was pretty eventful considering... See, I know all jobs are monotonous. But sewing elastic in a straight line all day really bores me out of my mind sometimes.

I was going to wake up early. I say that all the time. But today I needed to get to work early to talk to my supervisor-so of course I got up LATE. Not late like when I woke up when I normally leave last week, haha, but later than I wanted.

When I started at Beehive Clothing I felt like I was in a rush ALL DAY LONG. I woke up in just enough time to get ready, knew the light patterns driving, rushed into work, and spent the next eight and a half hours going as fast as I possibly could to get to 100% efficiency. Sewing elastic on forty pieces of cloth in ten minutes seemed impossible. But, I got faster and it's not quite as big of a deal anymore.

But I still like to end each day part way through a bundle so I can start the next day a little ahead and not worry so much. Today, I wasn't part way through one. Shouldn't have been a problem but my stitching was really loose and I had a hard time picking it out when I had to fix something. I got really irritated and talked to my bundle-handler about it. She put in a call for a mechanic.

I kept sewing until he came and told him what was going on. Normally when someone has a machine problem there is a spare machine so they can keep working. But there was a lady using our spare because hers broke yesterday (from what I understand). So... I stood and watched.

He took the plate of the bottom inside and found a whole mess of thread tangled around the parts. Haha, no idea how I managed to do that! It took him about twenty minutes to fix everything and part of the time I got to turn the finished ones right side out :) It was actually a really nice change.

So I was really behind... and got a bunch of large bundles... and a whole mess of re-cuts for over an hour... all very stressful. Now, I had to put in my two weeks today. I've known this for months. But every time I had a break my supervisor was walking around the department. When I was working I could see her at her desk. Frustrating? Yes.

I was all nervous and anxious about quitting anyway. But when I clocked out she was at her desk! So I went and talked to her... December 17th will be my last day.

I'm kind of sad... and yet I do not want to think about how I have to go back to work on Monday. But it really is a good job. And a good environment. The pay isn't bad and I get to listen to music-not deal with customers. I work at my own pace and get paid based on how much I do. But the monotony... and my back is killin' me :)

I also worry because of the need right now. They've had back-orders since before I started five months ago. But they've been going up. And it's Christmas time and they sale twice as much this month as any other. But, on top of that, the fire in the American Fork plant had terrible timing.

There wasn't much damage but the smoke in the building ruined a lot of the material. And they are busing employees from there to the Salt Lake plant to keep them working-it's kind of crowded :)

Anyway, that was my not-normal day at work. And the first time I've ever given two weeks notice... my first job was just seasonal :)