Springers and Rockers

Today I put in springs instead of rockers. Springs are harder than rockers, so I guess I'm really going up in the world.

One of the three guys I signed up with at the temp agency that I hit it off with got a job at the same place as me today, and we got placed in the same group. It's funny that that little scenario turned out to have some kind of significance.

Turns out we're making clutches for cars. It's a task that would normally be done by a machine, bu their machine won't work, so I guess they hired temps.

There's not too many temps. There's probably about sixty workers and five temps.

We won't be doing clutches forever. Our other work is... Something about car differentials.

But here's how the job works right now: somebody places rockers (metal pegs) into these gear things. Each gear has ten slots for rockers. After the rockers are placed, somebody puts springs under each rocker. Then somebody does something more high-tech. It's a three or four person job. A rocker can usually move about 1.5 times as fast as a springer, so it's awkward. If there's one rocker and one springer, the rockered cogs build up, if there's one rocker and two springers, the springers end up rocking, and if there's one springer and two rockers, the rockers end up springing. So it's like there's never a time when there isn't somebody that needs to branch out. But it doesn't matter, because the springing and rocking is so accessible to everyone, that nobody holds anyone back.

Today there was one rocker and two springers. I watched my fellow springer. For ever ten springs he did, I did eight. That's not too bad.

There was one guy, though, who just thrashed both of us on springs. He was a spring maniac! Yesterday, there was a guy like that on rockers. He was some surfer-looking guy who surfed on in and rocked our world with rockers.

When I toured Hydro Quebec, our tour lady was something of a comedian. She told us that they used to have someone working for their cafeteria who's sole job it was to crack eggs. She asked us to imagine what it would be like to tell someone that their job was cracking eggs for Hydro Quebec.

That joke falls kind of lamely on me now. My job is not any more complex than cracking eggs. I can tell people my job is "Putting springs in things".

...Wait. That actually sounds pretty fun. I should have used an example that didn't make such a fun rhyme. Both the words "springers" and "rockers" are just fun to say, actually.

At least it's not as bad as when my job was to construct boxes at RFDA... Followed by the job of deconstructing them. It's times like those that you feel your life has no meaning.

Augh... I didn't know how to get inside the building today. I checked around outside, but couldn't find my way in. There was nobody in reception, and it took me half an hour to get somebody's attention. My boss was kind of peeved. Apparently he told me yesterday... He still paid me for the half-hour I missed.

Plus, he usually lets us off half an hour early, and pays us for that, too.

Today he gave us chairs when workers complained about the strain on their backs and necks. Apparently it's very unusual for bosses to do that.

I probably hit the jackpot in terms of temp work... Relaxed environment, friendly people, good wages... The worst you can say is it's monotonous.