The Eyes of Peak Season

Peak season at the shipping depot is officially over, and I must say that my body has held up very well. No matter how busy it gets with the trucks and package handlers, this new healthy body of mine doesn’t shut down or get tired like it did in previous peak seasons. Partial credit goes to the fact that I now do outbound trucks instead of inbound. There are almost twice as many inbound trucks as there are outbound, and that takes a big toll on the body. I get the feeling, however, that even if I did inbound trucks my body would still feel good. In fact, I actually have more energy towards the end of my shift than at the beginning! Crazy stuff, man.

While I felt great physically, this peak season was a mental nightmare. Every time I heard a truck slow down to turn the corner I was annoyed. Every time someone would walk through the doors to be checked in I was annoyed. That sound of the door opening was killer! The stench of feet when the package hamdlers had to take off their shoes almost brought tears to my eyes! The further I got into peak season, the more every little thing would annoy me. You know what the worst part about it was? The eyes.

Ever work a job that you were ashamed of? I really hate being a security guard, and having people watch me as I do my job is one of the worst feelings. That feeling is magnified during peak season because there are so many more people there and much more work to do. It becomes almost too much too handle when they start talking to me and asking me dumbass questions:

"You've been working here a long time, haven't you?"

"How old are you?"

"Do you go to school?"

"Hi!"

Seriously dude, shut up. I feel bad enough having to work this crappy job and have people watch me... don't make it worse with inane banter! Ugh, the things I do for money. I truly believe that if everyone were blind or mute, I could feel very comfortable at the shipping depot. But I made it and that's what matters. I don’t think I can handle another peak season, so I’m hoping to really make some good financial moves next year.

By this time I was supposed to eliminate working Tuesdays at the shipping depot, but I really don’t see a point. With the wand at the bank job still broken, it’s like I’m only working one job on Tuesdays and Fridays anyway. The wand will most likely return sometime in January, so I’ll wait for that to happen before Tuesdays are eliminated at the depot. Until then, the work at two full-time jobs with the eyes and small talk continues...