Last Monday, Well.cabroke a company record for most orders sent within a day. They break a record on my first day back. Coincidence?
They were so happy they bought everyone pizza. They bought so much pizza that we collectively couldn't finish it all.
When he was announcing it, he sort of played us. He started off by talking about how on Monday, the whole system went down for half an hour and how it might not sound like a lot, but hundreds of orders are sent in the span of half an hour... He made it sound like we were behind schedule and would need to hustle. But then he capped it off by saying how impressed he was with how we managed to break record even with the technical difficulties.
There's a negative side to this, though. Because I'm called in based on whether or not there are orders... If we run through the orders too fast, then I don't get called in for work. And that's why I don't have any work today and probably not for the rest of the week.
Oh well... I've got that interview tomorrow, and I've got a social event on Friday.... Start off the summer with two days of work, a job interview, and a party... Better than last summer, that's for sure.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Back at Well
Today, when I went into work, my boss was all "Well, you guys know what to do" and I was like, "Actually, I've been hired as a packer this time, and I was never trained on packing" and she was all "But that's perfect, we need pickers right now".
I'm never going to pack, am I? There was even a few times today when everyone who knew how to pack was put on packing, and I was one of the few schlubs who was exclusively a picker, even though I'm a veteran.
The agency that sends me there sends me an email every day that I work. Last year, my job title was order picker, and this time my title is packager. But all I do is pick.
Order picking is like riding a bike. I had no trouble getting back into the swing of things.
Pickers don't make boxes anymore, and we don't estimate the size of the box, either. Makes sense, I guess. A friend of mine from last year who was on packing told me that over half the time, the box size the picker chose was wrong and they'd have to repack it.
There's a bunch of new lines. There's the HV Line, the Bulk Line, the Meth Line (short for "Method")... Pretty easy to figure out if you know how to navigate the warehouse, though.
Not as many old faces as I thought. There were a couple friends from eight months ago, but a lot of employees have left. A lot of the senior employees don't remember me... I remember them...
I got an interview with Extend-a-Family this Thursday.
The oven here is broken so I can't bake bread.
I'm never going to pack, am I? There was even a few times today when everyone who knew how to pack was put on packing, and I was one of the few schlubs who was exclusively a picker, even though I'm a veteran.
The agency that sends me there sends me an email every day that I work. Last year, my job title was order picker, and this time my title is packager. But all I do is pick.
Order picking is like riding a bike. I had no trouble getting back into the swing of things.
Pickers don't make boxes anymore, and we don't estimate the size of the box, either. Makes sense, I guess. A friend of mine from last year who was on packing told me that over half the time, the box size the picker chose was wrong and they'd have to repack it.
There's a bunch of new lines. There's the HV Line, the Bulk Line, the Meth Line (short for "Method")... Pretty easy to figure out if you know how to navigate the warehouse, though.
Not as many old faces as I thought. There were a couple friends from eight months ago, but a lot of employees have left. A lot of the senior employees don't remember me... I remember them...
I got an interview with Extend-a-Family this Thursday.
The oven here is broken so I can't bake bread.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Order Packer
There are two positions at Well.ca. Order picking, and order packing. Last year, I was an order picker, and over the course of the summer the pickers were slowly taught to pack as needed. A number of times, I was asked if I had been taught to pack, and when I said no, there just wasn't any time to train me on it. Well, according to the job description I just received, I have been hired on as an order packer this year. Gonna have to break it to them that they never trained me on it. On the other hand, since this is the "training season" and people train on their first session, if I'm going in a group, I'll probably get trained. I would be really excited to be a packer, actually.
I'm such a fool. I thought I'd have to update my file at Liberty Staffing, since it had been slightly over a year since I'd worked at Well, so I was surprised when they just called me in. Somebody else said "But it hasn't been over a year, it's been a school year. Eight months." Doh! I am really not intelligent in some ways.
I got to go back to the Butterfly Conservatory again. I went with the participants this time. I don't know what the rules are about publishing images with participants so I'm not going to.
I'm such a fool. I thought I'd have to update my file at Liberty Staffing, since it had been slightly over a year since I'd worked at Well, so I was surprised when they just called me in. Somebody else said "But it hasn't been over a year, it's been a school year. Eight months." Doh! I am really not intelligent in some ways.
I got to go back to the Butterfly Conservatory again. I went with the participants this time. I don't know what the rules are about publishing images with participants so I'm not going to.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Last Day at WALES and School and Back to Work
Well, yesterday was my last day of placement and today was my last day of class. Yesterday, I had both my final presentation at WALES and my culminating review with my teacher. We are required to write a reflective paper for our placement supervisor, but at WALES, they encourage us to be creative. Previously, someone had written a paper, someone else had done a powerpoint presentation, the year previous, someone had drawn a picture and sung a song. I knew that last year's had gone over very well, so I felt I needed to do something a bit more artistic. I'm not much of a singer and I didn't want to copy her anyway, so what I did was I wrote out a speech with poetry.
I was really wigged out when they slotted the entire afternoon to my going-away presentartion. My poem wasn't that long. I had forgotten that the final presentation includes going through all the participants and letting them tell you how they feel about you leaving, sharing their memories and asking questions. And then there's celebratory cake. So it filled the afternoon, and my poetry was a huge success.
This year is the first when people are offered the choice to remain in their year one placements as they continue to second year. My supervisor asked me if I would be interested. I said I was strongly interested and she told me that she wouldn't confirm anything, but she would message my teacher that I was strongly interested. She also mentioned that they encourage students to explore new experiences.
On the last day, I asked if they had considered keeping me, and she said it was something worth bringing up with my teacher. I figured these dodgy remarks meant "no", and they just didn't really want to confront me about it. I went through the final celebration, everyone was crying, they gave me my goodbye gift, I went in for the final review, and basically the first thing they said was "We want him back."
The review was totally glowing on both ends. When I came out, all the staff were congratulating me. They knew. They just strung me along and made me go through the goodbye proceedings.
Other people have to do five interviews over the summer. I don't have to do anything.
This is the first year where we receive a grade for Field Seminar. Previously it was just a pass/fail. So now the teacher requires us to give them a copy of our reflective papers. Since I wrote a poem, I told him he was going to have to be an art teacher. He was impressed by the poem, but he told me to write a one-page summary of it, so that it could be more introspective. He offered me an extension, since I'd already done the work, but I told him I'd be fine. And then I wound up writing an entire paper and including the poem.
My placement is taking one other student, so I should have a coworker next year.
I got an "SSW" hoody today, and an "I Choose Dignity" Extend-a-Family T-shirt.
Also, same day, my Order Picking job gave me a call, asked me if I could come in Monday. That's right, they kept track of when my last school day would be, and they called me at that time. I didn't have to job search, the job searched me. Unfortunately, that will put me back in Guelph. I have so many celebratory events to attend, but ahhh.... It's hard to say no to the money.
All my roommates are moving out next year. Full new roster of people.
I was really wigged out when they slotted the entire afternoon to my going-away presentartion. My poem wasn't that long. I had forgotten that the final presentation includes going through all the participants and letting them tell you how they feel about you leaving, sharing their memories and asking questions. And then there's celebratory cake. So it filled the afternoon, and my poetry was a huge success.
This year is the first when people are offered the choice to remain in their year one placements as they continue to second year. My supervisor asked me if I would be interested. I said I was strongly interested and she told me that she wouldn't confirm anything, but she would message my teacher that I was strongly interested. She also mentioned that they encourage students to explore new experiences.
On the last day, I asked if they had considered keeping me, and she said it was something worth bringing up with my teacher. I figured these dodgy remarks meant "no", and they just didn't really want to confront me about it. I went through the final celebration, everyone was crying, they gave me my goodbye gift, I went in for the final review, and basically the first thing they said was "We want him back."
The review was totally glowing on both ends. When I came out, all the staff were congratulating me. They knew. They just strung me along and made me go through the goodbye proceedings.
Other people have to do five interviews over the summer. I don't have to do anything.
This is the first year where we receive a grade for Field Seminar. Previously it was just a pass/fail. So now the teacher requires us to give them a copy of our reflective papers. Since I wrote a poem, I told him he was going to have to be an art teacher. He was impressed by the poem, but he told me to write a one-page summary of it, so that it could be more introspective. He offered me an extension, since I'd already done the work, but I told him I'd be fine. And then I wound up writing an entire paper and including the poem.
My placement is taking one other student, so I should have a coworker next year.
I got an "SSW" hoody today, and an "I Choose Dignity" Extend-a-Family T-shirt.
Also, same day, my Order Picking job gave me a call, asked me if I could come in Monday. That's right, they kept track of when my last school day would be, and they called me at that time. I didn't have to job search, the job searched me. Unfortunately, that will put me back in Guelph. I have so many celebratory events to attend, but ahhh.... It's hard to say no to the money.
All my roommates are moving out next year. Full new roster of people.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Stand-Up
I mentioned once that you can get soy milk in several different brands at every grocery, but that each store only has one type of regular milk, and people will speak on the different brands of soy, but no one speaks on the brands of regular milk. I found it odd because cow milk is more popular than soy.
Well, at the Central market near WALES, they carry three types of cow milk. They have Beatrice, Neilson, and then one I've never seen before, Steen's Dairy. There was a price difference between Beatrice and Neilson, and then Steen's was cheaper than either of them. Got myself some Steen's and it tastes fine. I know where I'm getting my milk from here on out.
As well as a grocery, there is a beer store and LCBO. A fringe benefit of my placement is it's location.
I'm back home for the Easter weekend. I think it's been about two months since I've been here. I might prep the soil for a garden, but if I'm in Kitchener for the summer, I won't be able to maintain it myself.
We had snow last week. We were fully in the swing of spring, and then randomly, Southern Ontario got blanketed with snow for like, three days.
Last week, the second year students had their last day at WALES. We had a going-away celebration, and it was sad. It was hard to tell the participants that my last day might be next week. Since one of the participants did both her first and second year at WALES, they were under the impression that it would be the same for me. It might, but I can't promise anything when I don't know.
I got to speak for WALES in front of my Friday class last week. Since we've only had one class per week, we've had students speak on their placements. It went well. I used buzz words like "integration model" "servant leaders" "leading from behind". I broke down the acronym WALES to Working Adults Learning Empowering Skills. I spoke on the variety of the work, how I get to work one-on-one, in groups, I get to be in the home office, and I get to spend time out in the community. I spoke on the fringe benefits of getting the Non Violent Crisis Intervention Training and First Aid and CPR Level C certificates, and the Inclusion Workshop, Core Competency training, and Job Carving training. All that didn't fill up too much time and I didn't know what to say, so I started telling stories. I spoke on going to the Autism Awareness BBQ and running into my SSW friends, I shouted them out and pulled some words from them. I spoke on getting to do light-hearted stuff like going bowling, and then more serious stuff like helping a participant gain more confidence in crossing the road, and enjoying the variety, and combination of fun and purpose that comes with the position.
Everyone tells me I should be a stand-up comedian now. It sounds bad, because when you're working with people who have been identified as having a developmental disability, when someone tells you that your presentation came across as stand-up, first impression was that you might have been tactless. But really, it was all very respectful. I spoke on getting crushed at bowling and how, since they are so independent and can get to the alley themselves and pay for themselves and all that, I was just there to mediate conflict if people started to tease those who didn't do so well. But since I did worse than anyone, the only conflict I had to mediate was with myself. I also spoke on the feeling of riding the bus and being caught between a debate on where to get off, myself not knowing, and the other bus-goers giving me looks as if I should be providing direction. I think my shouting out my class mates was also kind of stand-up.
The second years had a "Stand up for Mental Health" night, where they got people who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses to do comedy on their struggles. I went to it. The first section of the night was an hour-long video, the second section was the actual comedic routine, and the third was a raffle. They had a complimentary buffet. The first section was not that good. I could watch the same video on my laptop at better quality, and it was too inspirational, going into the benefits of someone with a mental illness doing comedy. It ran longer than the schedule said it would, which I find baffling because all they had to do was look at the little number in the corner of the screen to see how long they should schedule it for.
The actual comedy was great. They had like, five people do it. We had comedians with schizophrenia, agoraphobia, clinical depression and anxiety, and autism and asperger's. Someone who tried to hang themselves and failed "Now I know I can tie a knot to save my life", someone aging with schizophrenia "I have to use hearing aides to hear my voices". Haha.
The raffle was the third section, but it shouldn't have been. It ran so long, the whole thing was an hour longer than scheduled. Me and this girl went into the raffle together and we won a month of free martial arts training. But since it's only good for one of us, we're still going to have to pay for a month between us, so it's more like a month of martial arts at 50% off for two people. I was so scared we'd win the spa, since I said the deal would be the same no matter what we won. Plus I'd have to go up and collect it.
The buffet had lots of good food, but they forgot to put out cutlery at first, so everyone had to go through picking up the food with their hands. They got cutlery later, after most people had already got what they were going to take.
The presentation was all very good, with the tables and table cloths, center pieces, schedules, and the whole bit.
I arrived early to confirm the time it would start and end for the person that I went with, but when I ran into my friends, I stuck around and helped set up a bit. I got called out for spending a lot of time texting, charging my phone, and leaving to buy stuff. I would fire back that I wasn't a volunteer, and was just doing whatever I felt like. But when I went to buy my ticket, they gave me the volunteer discount, and then I got a free drink. Then I felt obligated to stick around and help take down after the show. Apparently we need volunteer hours for next years, and those counted.
Well, at the Central market near WALES, they carry three types of cow milk. They have Beatrice, Neilson, and then one I've never seen before, Steen's Dairy. There was a price difference between Beatrice and Neilson, and then Steen's was cheaper than either of them. Got myself some Steen's and it tastes fine. I know where I'm getting my milk from here on out.
As well as a grocery, there is a beer store and LCBO. A fringe benefit of my placement is it's location.
I'm back home for the Easter weekend. I think it's been about two months since I've been here. I might prep the soil for a garden, but if I'm in Kitchener for the summer, I won't be able to maintain it myself.
We had snow last week. We were fully in the swing of spring, and then randomly, Southern Ontario got blanketed with snow for like, three days.
Last week, the second year students had their last day at WALES. We had a going-away celebration, and it was sad. It was hard to tell the participants that my last day might be next week. Since one of the participants did both her first and second year at WALES, they were under the impression that it would be the same for me. It might, but I can't promise anything when I don't know.
I got to speak for WALES in front of my Friday class last week. Since we've only had one class per week, we've had students speak on their placements. It went well. I used buzz words like "integration model" "servant leaders" "leading from behind". I broke down the acronym WALES to Working Adults Learning Empowering Skills. I spoke on the variety of the work, how I get to work one-on-one, in groups, I get to be in the home office, and I get to spend time out in the community. I spoke on the fringe benefits of getting the Non Violent Crisis Intervention Training and First Aid and CPR Level C certificates, and the Inclusion Workshop, Core Competency training, and Job Carving training. All that didn't fill up too much time and I didn't know what to say, so I started telling stories. I spoke on going to the Autism Awareness BBQ and running into my SSW friends, I shouted them out and pulled some words from them. I spoke on getting to do light-hearted stuff like going bowling, and then more serious stuff like helping a participant gain more confidence in crossing the road, and enjoying the variety, and combination of fun and purpose that comes with the position.
Everyone tells me I should be a stand-up comedian now. It sounds bad, because when you're working with people who have been identified as having a developmental disability, when someone tells you that your presentation came across as stand-up, first impression was that you might have been tactless. But really, it was all very respectful. I spoke on getting crushed at bowling and how, since they are so independent and can get to the alley themselves and pay for themselves and all that, I was just there to mediate conflict if people started to tease those who didn't do so well. But since I did worse than anyone, the only conflict I had to mediate was with myself. I also spoke on the feeling of riding the bus and being caught between a debate on where to get off, myself not knowing, and the other bus-goers giving me looks as if I should be providing direction. I think my shouting out my class mates was also kind of stand-up.
The second years had a "Stand up for Mental Health" night, where they got people who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses to do comedy on their struggles. I went to it. The first section of the night was an hour-long video, the second section was the actual comedic routine, and the third was a raffle. They had a complimentary buffet. The first section was not that good. I could watch the same video on my laptop at better quality, and it was too inspirational, going into the benefits of someone with a mental illness doing comedy. It ran longer than the schedule said it would, which I find baffling because all they had to do was look at the little number in the corner of the screen to see how long they should schedule it for.
The actual comedy was great. They had like, five people do it. We had comedians with schizophrenia, agoraphobia, clinical depression and anxiety, and autism and asperger's. Someone who tried to hang themselves and failed "Now I know I can tie a knot to save my life", someone aging with schizophrenia "I have to use hearing aides to hear my voices". Haha.
The raffle was the third section, but it shouldn't have been. It ran so long, the whole thing was an hour longer than scheduled. Me and this girl went into the raffle together and we won a month of free martial arts training. But since it's only good for one of us, we're still going to have to pay for a month between us, so it's more like a month of martial arts at 50% off for two people. I was so scared we'd win the spa, since I said the deal would be the same no matter what we won. Plus I'd have to go up and collect it.
The buffet had lots of good food, but they forgot to put out cutlery at first, so everyone had to go through picking up the food with their hands. They got cutlery later, after most people had already got what they were going to take.
The presentation was all very good, with the tables and table cloths, center pieces, schedules, and the whole bit.
I arrived early to confirm the time it would start and end for the person that I went with, but when I ran into my friends, I stuck around and helped set up a bit. I got called out for spending a lot of time texting, charging my phone, and leaving to buy stuff. I would fire back that I wasn't a volunteer, and was just doing whatever I felt like. But when I went to buy my ticket, they gave me the volunteer discount, and then I got a free drink. Then I felt obligated to stick around and help take down after the show. Apparently we need volunteer hours for next years, and those counted.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Butterfly Conservatory
Well, I'm done job carving. The training took place at the Butterfly Conservatory. It's an indoor habitat for butterflies. I'd been there once before when I was a child, back when it was called the Wings of Paradise. It was cool, because I hadn't thought about the place in years, but when I went there, I instantly remembered the entire layout. It hasn't changed much, except when I went, there were only butterflies, goldfish and quails. Now they have turtles, finches, and a parakeet. In their information exhibits, besides butterflies, they cover moths, tarantulas, and scorpions, and bees. They have live examples of each of those except bees, too. It's slowly becoming an all-purpose tropical zone.
The little machine they have that presses images on coins is suffering from inflation. In the past, you'd put a dollar in and a penny and it would squash the penny into a work of art, but now, because we got rid of pennies, you have to put in a dollar and then use a nickel.
Wait, isn't it illegal to purposely destroy money?
The other day, I went to a meeting for Student Life staff and we were all asked to introduce ourselves and how we were associated. For the first time, I got to say "I am a Respect Leader." Not, "I will be a Respect Leader" or "I have earned the title of Respect Leader", but "I am a Respect Leader" and I got to say it in front of the head honchos. I got to meet the other two Leaders for September. Both are new. It's going to be a full new team next year.
The little machine they have that presses images on coins is suffering from inflation. In the past, you'd put a dollar in and a penny and it would squash the penny into a work of art, but now, because we got rid of pennies, you have to put in a dollar and then use a nickel.
Wait, isn't it illegal to purposely destroy money?
The other day, I went to a meeting for Student Life staff and we were all asked to introduce ourselves and how we were associated. For the first time, I got to say "I am a Respect Leader." Not, "I will be a Respect Leader" or "I have earned the title of Respect Leader", but "I am a Respect Leader" and I got to say it in front of the head honchos. I got to meet the other two Leaders for September. Both are new. It's going to be a full new team next year.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Expanding on WALES and Respect
I got some requests to expand a little on WALES and the Respect Leader position.
WALES is a program for people who have been labeled with a developmental disability. I help participants to accomplish goals they set for themselves.
The Respect Campaign is run through Conestoga. It runs events that promote inclusion and diversity. Leaders organize events, facilitate meetings with volunteers, perform public speaking roles, and collaborate with Student Life staff.
My cell phone is not in a good way. Every time I get a message, it says that I have 240 new messages... And it will alert me like, three times. It's losing it.
I've got a three-day job carving training this Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Job carving is looking at areas, finding a need, and inventing positions. It differs from job searching in that job searching has the employer present the position of need, whereas with job carving, the worker presents the position of need. It's important for my placement, because a large part of our effort is helping participants to find work.
I'm looking into the possibility of being a one-to-one worker for Extend-a-Family over the summer, and I'm hoping to do my eight month placement next year with WALES.
Last week I got to bring some of the participants to an autism awareness BBQ. I ran into a couple of my SSW friends, since our placements tend to take an interest in such an event. I got to introduce some of the participants to my school friends. It was cool.
The Inclusion Workshop was cool. One of the participants from WALES made a speach and he gave me a shout-out. I felt like a kid who is friends with the popular kid, and so popular by association.
WALES is a program for people who have been labeled with a developmental disability. I help participants to accomplish goals they set for themselves.
The Respect Campaign is run through Conestoga. It runs events that promote inclusion and diversity. Leaders organize events, facilitate meetings with volunteers, perform public speaking roles, and collaborate with Student Life staff.
My cell phone is not in a good way. Every time I get a message, it says that I have 240 new messages... And it will alert me like, three times. It's losing it.
I've got a three-day job carving training this Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Job carving is looking at areas, finding a need, and inventing positions. It differs from job searching in that job searching has the employer present the position of need, whereas with job carving, the worker presents the position of need. It's important for my placement, because a large part of our effort is helping participants to find work.
I'm looking into the possibility of being a one-to-one worker for Extend-a-Family over the summer, and I'm hoping to do my eight month placement next year with WALES.
Last week I got to bring some of the participants to an autism awareness BBQ. I ran into a couple of my SSW friends, since our placements tend to take an interest in such an event. I got to introduce some of the participants to my school friends. It was cool.
The Inclusion Workshop was cool. One of the participants from WALES made a speach and he gave me a shout-out. I felt like a kid who is friends with the popular kid, and so popular by association.
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