Wednesday, October 18, 2006

I Don't Think the Gamma Ray Thing Worked

Repetition. Repetition. Linguistically I love it. Sonically it satisfies. As a life pattern, repetition seems impossible for me. Today I will be doing one thing at work. Over and over and over again. Cut the gel, label it. Cut the gel, label it. Cut the gel. Allll dayyy lonnng. Maybe tomorrow too. Oh. This kills me. Many many years ago I worked as a temp in a carboard factory, graveyard shift. I lasted less than two weeks. My job there was to take the piles of flattened cardboard off the conveyer belt, straighten it up and put it on a pallet. Over and over and over again. I wore canvas gloves on my hands and a blue bandanna on my head. We took breaks when the whistle blew, everyone stepping outside to smoke, because, well, what else are you going to do when you work at a cardboard factory? You could dance around and sing incomprehensible words like Bjork, but you would probably get fired. Today while I’m cutting gel I will think about the twists of fate and the power of choice. I will think about a woman I met outside while smoking on our fifteen minute break at the cardboard factory. She had had the same job for fifteen years. I didn’t make it fifteen days.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe it's too soon to tell if the cosmic trigger worked, but I was *very* focused at 5:17 yesterday! Great writing about your factory job -- another vivid scene from Repeater! Does T have you reading both the short stories and the memoir? Are you reading the WHOLE collection or just a few (I've decided that ten is my magic number).

Writer Bug said...

LOL--your bjork comment cracked me up. Good luck today! can you listen to good music or a book on tape? that might help the time pass...

Repeater said...

I'm going to tell the truth- I didn't even read the whole cosmic trigger post myself, just got the gyst of it, posted & ran, trying to think positively all day! I am reading both memoir & as many stories as I can (I'm 1/2 through memoir & 1/4 through stories). We'll see. I intended to read all, but not looking realistic now.
Music, yes, bug. I'm all about it. half way there....

Idiot Cook said...

WOW! I sniff a character here...and a story. Life in the cardboard factory. Man.

Good stuff, Repeater.

Anonymous said...

You have a refreshing way with words that makes reading your posts highly entertaining. Maybe it's all that repetition paving the way to perfection. :p

Keep at it! c",)