But Monday mornings constitute that sometimes difficult transition from whatever state I'm in to book packer mode, I didn't get knocked off my bicycle on the ride to the warehouse and got there in time for a coffee from the machine, I've learned to like coffee from the machine in the canteen,it's free and I save money coffee by not making it at home. Over morning coffee before the shift Jack talked about how he'd tattooed himself at the weekend using a kit he'd been given as a present, he'd tattooed the name of his dead daughter on his forearm between tattoos of the grim reaper and a skull in a spider web, it had a delightful hand drawn quality.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mammoth-Book-Tattoo-Art-Books/dp/1849015686/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-3&keywords=mammoth+book+of+tattoos
So, more reasons I like my job;
the people, and being with people makes me feel alive. The banter in the warehouse this morning was mostly related to Gary, one of the warehouse team. Gary died at the weekend, complications with an operation to remove gallstones but the most awful thing is that I can't actually recall what he looked like, or anything in particular about his personality. Made me consider that If I died, how would I be described to someone in the warehouse that didn't know me by name? I asked the guy packing beside me, would I be described as the androgynous, middle aged woman with bad hair - every day is a bad hair day for me, partly because I used to self mutilate by hacking at my hair whenever life upset me - and I haven't bothered to break the habit because it now serves my lifestyle that involves not spending any money (because I don't actually have any), also I don' t often consider my appearance and don't even own a comb or a hairbrush. But the response was that I'd be described as someone who comes and goes, travels, is fairly quiet, and someone that keeps herself to herself, OH ... and I thought I was gregarious ... obviously not.
I like the people because they all have stories, and their lives and stories seem much more interesting than the stories I imagine are in the books we're packing, because they are real and written on peoples' bodies, their histories and her stories are apparent in way they stand and or walk or by the lines on their faces, some people have a spring in their step or a stoop or a frown or a set look of determination, Jim is fat (belly hangs below his genitals) and he sings mindlessly to tunes played on the radio, but when spoken to he is razor sharp and articulate, I like him. And then there's Frankie, 'king of the bin' he has wonky eyes, a very thick neck and his mouth is always hanging slightly open and looks like he'd smell, but he doesn't. Frankie has been to sea, he was in the merchant navy, worked in the engine rooms.
I like my job because I do physical labour for the reward of £6.51/hour, and I like that. Sometimes the effort is very real, so I need to push myself, I can do this by being conscious of how my body is moving, so I imagine I'm performing, and concentrate on being well poised and moving gracefully, I keep my back straight and my head up and carry books as if I care about them, it helps. Other times I just take Tramadol. The shift is always really good on Tramadol it gives me a wonderful sense of well being. I wouldn't want to sit in front of a screen all day in an office, I feel much more at home in the warehouse.
But back to thoughts on death. Gary is dead, even though I don't actually know precicelsy who Gary is/was, his wife used to work here so I was told, until she tripped on a carpet in the canteen and broke her shoulder and now she can't work any more. Gary had a nice car and no mortgage and had been looking forward to retirement. Of course when some one within our network dies we are made to confront our own mortality and that leads to questioning how we are spending our time, is it OK to be packing books in a distribution network?? Well I think it is. Books are good, stories are good, stories help us make us sense of our experience, I recently read a book by Karen Armstrong on Myth.
http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/religion/myths.htm
Karen Armstrong is an authoritative writer on religion and history, so this short book on myth did it for me, she explains the function of myth in humans as a means of understanding those uncomfortable aspects of our existence that we cannot face without the elaborate packaging provided by the arts. So I am happy to be spending my time distributing this important information, I can see how book packing is serving humanity; it is a purposeful activity. It's not a waste of my life.
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