Something Unusual
Other people were lost too.
There were many sick people in the city.
No one knew what was happening.
Oggy went to the address on the yellow ticket and did what people told him
He often made mistakes.
But he was observant.
He watched.
He listened.
Oggy couldn't help it.
IT was his way.
Workday #22
On The Subject of Relationships
June 20, 2004
The plumbing trenches were dug, the pipe laid, the new standup frozen food refrigerators finally in place. Something had been accomplished, though I still yawned when no one was looking and got distracted by the colorful packages in the toy aisle. The toy aisle was number 5. The frozen foods were in aisle 7 and 8. Now I passed aisle number 5 on my way to fill the holes back up and get them ready for concrete.
"Make sure to stamp the dirt down," Ray told me. "I put a piece of rebar in that last one and the fucker went all the way down. The dirt's gotta be tight, dude."
"Maybe you gotta get a heavier guy to step on it. I don't weigh shit," I answered as I stepped on the dirt in the trench. I could feel the dirt settle a little bit, but decided it was a waste of time...my time...my $6.75 an hour time.
Don't matter a fuck what you weigh, said Ray as he helped pound the dirt down with his feet.
This wasn't the first stupid thing I had heard during my shift, but it irritated me. Of course it mattered what I weighed. How else was the dirt going to be compacted? Just one of the countless reminders that I had not yet found my calling in life.
Ray explained one more time why compacted dirt was important. I had heard this speech earlier and it didn't matter to me now either. I nodded my head and went back outside with the empty wheelbarrow, passing aisle 5 where a plastic helicopter caught my attention. The package showed men jumping out of the helicopter in parachutes. Parachutes? Did they do things like that?
On my way out back I passed the day old bread rack, the sawdust covered water fountains, and the room that would become bathrooms. Several employees sat in the break room watching the NBA playoffs.
Outside, I turned the wheelbarrow around so I could walk it straight back in. Four men were in a trench around the sewage pump. It still needed to be back filled, but I knew I'd be off the ticket before that happened.
I had a girlfriend, the boss was saying, who gave me a blow job that made my toes curl. Just like that. The boss curled his fingers into his palms. I should've married her.
A worker brushed some dirt off of the sewer pump and said, Ah, shit.
But she was sucking everyone else off too, continued the boss.
Hell, I said, she needed practice.
Another worker laughed and said, I was gonna say. How do you think she got so good? Nothing worse than a woman who can't suck dick. I'd pay for my wife to figure out what to do. I wouldn't even mind if she had to suck a hundred guys to get it right. Fuck it.
Well, that's what my girlfriend was doing. But, man My fucking toes.
We laughed again as the boss flexed his fingers. It was two in the morning and there were at least two weeks left on the job. The boss had already told me that he thought his wife was having an affair. I told him that working nights, 9 PM to 6 AM every day just about fucked any time with your family.
I told my wife I knew she was fucking someone. Know what? I didn't even care.
Helluva way to earn a living, I said. Fucking Ralphs.
Ralphs was the supermarket we were renovating. Ralphs would get new refrigerators, I'd make about four hundred dollars, and the boss would lose his wife.
I filled the wheelbarrow up with dirt and pushed it back inside, past the water fountains, and past the day old bread rack. When I got to aisle 5 I took the helicopter package and put it in the wheel barrow and pushed it to the edge of the trench and dumped it all in. Then, just as I stepped in to stamp the dirt down, I heard Ray's voice behind me ask, What the fuck are you doing?
There were many sick people in the city.
No one knew what was happening.
Oggy went to the address on the yellow ticket and did what people told him
He often made mistakes.
But he was observant.
He watched.
He listened.
Oggy couldn't help it.
IT was his way.
Workday #22
On The Subject of Relationships
June 20, 2004
The plumbing trenches were dug, the pipe laid, the new standup frozen food refrigerators finally in place. Something had been accomplished, though I still yawned when no one was looking and got distracted by the colorful packages in the toy aisle. The toy aisle was number 5. The frozen foods were in aisle 7 and 8. Now I passed aisle number 5 on my way to fill the holes back up and get them ready for concrete.
"Make sure to stamp the dirt down," Ray told me. "I put a piece of rebar in that last one and the fucker went all the way down. The dirt's gotta be tight, dude."
"Maybe you gotta get a heavier guy to step on it. I don't weigh shit," I answered as I stepped on the dirt in the trench. I could feel the dirt settle a little bit, but decided it was a waste of time...my time...my $6.75 an hour time.
Don't matter a fuck what you weigh, said Ray as he helped pound the dirt down with his feet.
This wasn't the first stupid thing I had heard during my shift, but it irritated me. Of course it mattered what I weighed. How else was the dirt going to be compacted? Just one of the countless reminders that I had not yet found my calling in life.
Ray explained one more time why compacted dirt was important. I had heard this speech earlier and it didn't matter to me now either. I nodded my head and went back outside with the empty wheelbarrow, passing aisle 5 where a plastic helicopter caught my attention. The package showed men jumping out of the helicopter in parachutes. Parachutes? Did they do things like that?
On my way out back I passed the day old bread rack, the sawdust covered water fountains, and the room that would become bathrooms. Several employees sat in the break room watching the NBA playoffs.
Outside, I turned the wheelbarrow around so I could walk it straight back in. Four men were in a trench around the sewage pump. It still needed to be back filled, but I knew I'd be off the ticket before that happened.
I had a girlfriend, the boss was saying, who gave me a blow job that made my toes curl. Just like that. The boss curled his fingers into his palms. I should've married her.
A worker brushed some dirt off of the sewer pump and said, Ah, shit.
But she was sucking everyone else off too, continued the boss.
Hell, I said, she needed practice.
Another worker laughed and said, I was gonna say. How do you think she got so good? Nothing worse than a woman who can't suck dick. I'd pay for my wife to figure out what to do. I wouldn't even mind if she had to suck a hundred guys to get it right. Fuck it.
Well, that's what my girlfriend was doing. But, man My fucking toes.
We laughed again as the boss flexed his fingers. It was two in the morning and there were at least two weeks left on the job. The boss had already told me that he thought his wife was having an affair. I told him that working nights, 9 PM to 6 AM every day just about fucked any time with your family.
I told my wife I knew she was fucking someone. Know what? I didn't even care.
Helluva way to earn a living, I said. Fucking Ralphs.
Ralphs was the supermarket we were renovating. Ralphs would get new refrigerators, I'd make about four hundred dollars, and the boss would lose his wife.
I filled the wheelbarrow up with dirt and pushed it back inside, past the water fountains, and past the day old bread rack. When I got to aisle 5 I took the helicopter package and put it in the wheel barrow and pushed it to the edge of the trench and dumped it all in. Then, just as I stepped in to stamp the dirt down, I heard Ray's voice behind me ask, What the fuck are you doing?
posted by Oggy Bleacher | 10:40 PM
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