Life, work and everything

I’m just about half way through the term here in Oshawa. So much has happened, but I always put it off for fear of taking too long to write in this thing. Time is going by damned fast.

The job started out really rough. General Motors employees have a strong union bond, especially the group I was assigned to. I found myself arguing with workers and union reps on a daily basis and seriously considered quitting the job. I was lucky enough however, to have a young mentor who works right alongside me and talked things out with when emotions ran high. Being a supervisor on the floor is a lot like getting caught in a vice. There’s pressure from upper management and employees; there are good days and bad. I earn my wage 3 out of 5 days of the week. The plant is still fascinating to walk through… I’m going to check out the water-leak test later this week. Apparently it’s like driving a car into a lake… muahahaaaa.

Oshawa is a dump of a town, but I’ve had a pretty good time so far. The two ladies in my house are very nice and it’s good to have idle chit chat after a day of bs. The older lady “B” works at GM as well. I also made some pretty good friends here. I go grocery shopping with J. Luo, an eccentric (and I use that term very loosely) guy who probably eats his body weight in groceries every month. Shopping with him makes me feel inferior in both the meat and vegetable categories.

After work I hang out with Tomaz, Sean and X all student supervisors on coop, hereby known as the usual guys. Tom is from Laurier U and works in the car plant 1 door line. I work in plant 2 door line. He works in heaven, I work in hell. Our departments are so different even though we essentially look after the same jobs. Comparing stories with him always ends with Tom feeling pretty sorry for me. Sean is a BCer from U of Victoria. Sometimes someone has the ability to be so outrageously funny, I wonder how long it’s been since I’ve laughed so hard. Sean is one of those people. He also has big arms that scare me at times. X is his name. I’m serious, his real name is something Chinese that nobody can pronounce unless you’re Chinese. He just got fed up one day and told people to call him X. X is a simple guy, he hates work more than anyone I’ve met here. We laugh at him a lot.

A typical week outside of work now consists of:

Pool at a sleazy bar called Le Skratch owned and operated by the Hells Angels, Wing nights at this place with free circus grade peanuts in barrels… the place is carpeted with shells at the end of each night, clubbing with Durham college skanks... ahhh… students at a place that can mix country western, hip hop and classic rock together; the dj deserves some cred. I also host poker nights in my basement, the other coop students usually show up.

Every weekend has been spent outside of Oshawa so far. I make frequent trips home to Mississauga and Hamilton, to see the parents and bf respectively.

I’m going to try to update this blog more often. A lot has been happening right now, and I have no time to get into them all.
So that’s my update for the last month, and here’s what’s going on presently.

I’m on afternoon shifts from 2:00pm to 10:30pm, staying at work late just to blog :) It’s my first time staying late after work. The place is completely different in silence.

I think my roommates are getting evicted. I saw their last month’s rent returned to them by the landlord after a screaming match this morning.

My job responsibilities have changed starting today. The employees under my group are now joining with my mentor’s group. I don’t know how to divide up the tasks.

I lost my wallet again. Except this time it was along with my purse and digital camera and cell phone… and house keys. It happened on the subway when I was in a haze. I can’t even pin point where I could have lost it. One thing’s for sure, whoever’s got it now is not willing to give it back. The locks at my parent’s house had to be changed today, and I’m in need of a new cell phone and camera.

Things are up in the air right now. But at least I’ve got warm chicken noodle soup waiting for me in a can. In fact, I better get back home now and find out if my roommates are still here after the end of the month :S.