Solitude

A pounding press machine's vibrations, clanging metal, forklift's horn, steel-toed boots shuffling on the cement floor, and voices fading away with distance are all activities that exlcusively or simoultaneously can be heard. An outside observer can marvel at the structured activities. Men and women inside the company's plant press a button, watch a few sparks fly, briefly examine the once flat steel flap that's now shaped as a wheel, and start the process over again... Over and over again. It's mass production technology at its best where human and robot are expected to fuse. There can be no structural breakdowns. Period.

How long can a robot last? I guess if you apply the proper maintenance it can withstand several straight hours of wear and tear six days a week. Eventually, a chip will burn out and the robot gets sick. The robot is healed by a general practice doctor who is otherwise known as a maintenance man. How long can a human last?

It's Friday and close to 8:30 a.m. Dennis and John, two of this plant's most personable and seemingly happy-go-lucky employees, approach my desk in the lobby. You see Dennis carrying that familiar brown and tan cup with a black lid from McDonalds, while John has his usual docile smile. Naturally, I know the guilt trip is coming.

"TGIF, Phil," Dennis loudly says with that ring of sarcasm.

"It's Finish Line Friday," I loudly reply.

"Yeah, for you," as Dennis' tone of voice lowers with frustration.

I empahtize with Dennis and John, because I had a similar schedule for three straight months. They just finished working an 11 hour shift yesterday. On Saturday, they have the luxury of coming into work at 4 a.m.

The physical toll turned from tolerable to pure exhaustion. I simply couldn't handle it. One day, a physical injury turned into a blessing.

It was a cold, winter morning and a box of hubs weighing approximately 60 pounds was set on my cart. I was annoyed having to pull this extra weight. The day before, I was told to bring the box to our office. There were some defects I found. So, I obliged. I decided to slide the box off my cart and in the process, felt a sharp pain in my back after successfully placing it against the wall. The pain intensified. Something was wrong, and I saw the man who hired me who had a good business relationship with my dad outside the Quality office. I approached him.

"I just hurt my back while trying to slide a box of hubs off my cart," I told him.

"Well, can you work or not," he coldly asked.

"I think I need to see a doctor."

"Go see Dave (Quality Manager who has half a set of teeth still in his mouth)."

I went back into the office and started composing an e-mail to my job coach. Yes, when things went sour here after I was moved to the plant, I played the disability card having been diagnosed at 17 with Asperger's Syndrome. While composing this e-mail, our defacto supervisor, Donna said I can only use the computer for work-related activities. We got into a contentious argument before I finally walked out with a mug of coffee in my hand.

While walking through our machine shop where our maintenance crew works, Paul (President) was chuckling with two of our upper-management guys. He flashed a smug look at my coffee mug. I couldn't hear with all the machinery noise, but he motioned for someone to go into the Quality Office. Dave later informed me I was selfish and should've known better than "flaunt a mug of coffee in front of Paul." I told Dave we're all adults here and the double standard applied for management and employees.

While filling out an accident report, Dave had a matter-of-fact tone rhetorically asking, "You don't need to see a doctor, do you?" "Actually, I think it would be best if I did." He shrugged his shoulders and continued filling out the report. My accident placed me to where I will finish my time with this company on March 12 -- at the reception desk.

I've enjoyed my solitude here and don't miss dealing with overstressed and overworked people. Outside of here, I think they might be reasonable. I've always enjoyed reaching out to others and making them feel good about themselves. However, in a place with so much tension, this proved to be a wishful approach.

Over the past few weeks, I've reflected on these experiences and also have lost faith in humanity. Do people really just want to remain apathetic? How long will they be able to function before their mind and body becomes permanently injured in this extremely fast-paced environment? Ultimately, the main question all of you and these guys need to ask themselves is this: Do I want to live to work or work to live? As they continue to accept this authoritarian environment, I'm reminded of what the late Pat Morita's character, Mr. Miyagi said in The Karate Kid, "No such thing as bad student, only bad teacher. Teacher say, student do. No questions."

Paul, our HR Manager, and I had another contentious meeting where I thought he'd fire me. We talked for over three hours with some great talking points he used. One stood out. He said when his time on Earth is done, "I want to be remembered as someone who was compassionate and helped other people." It's one thing to say the right things, but it's quite another to apply them to action.

This meeting could've been set as something already predetermined. My job coach made the foolish decision to forward an e-mail to the HR Manager that had some unflattering things said about an obnoxious, petulant Scheduler who I work with here. "We can trust him," she kept repeating. I knew she was wrong. This reached Paul's attention, and they came to the conclusion this wasn't a good fit. I couldn't agree more.

My next endeavor will be in government or nonprofit if lucky. It will be a job where human capital is valued. I'm looking at openings where I can make a difference in people's lives. Hopefully, my passions will open the eyes of just one out there who can give me a chance. I know the reality of receiving no responses, becoming frustrated finding jobs, and receiving little to no income will be a harsh one. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, "Sometimes you have to die a few times to live life just once."

Food, Inc. -- The Food Industry STILL has it their way

Burger King ran a catchy, empowering slogan for years, "Have it your way." This sounds great. As a consumer, I have variety and diverse foods I can eat. It's quite a different picture once you see the independent, groundbreaking documentary, Food, Inc.

You are exposed to the atrocities a few multinational food processing companies practice that could lead to our deaths. The introduction says it all. It begins in a supermarket where you have this mirage of all these diverse products -- averages to 47,000 per supermarket. You have cereals, produce, meats, and dairy selections. On these products, you see these pastoral images. Those images are artificial.

The film takes you inside the every day struggles farmers and hard working Americans confront. A chicken farmer can no longer produce at the exponential rates of a Tyson Foods Corporation. So, these farmers really have no choice but to sign contracts with companies like Tyson and Perdue. It costs them an average of $280,000 for one chicken farm. Inside, chickens grow at very rapid rates, twice the amount they did back in the early 50s. The average paycheck these farmers receive from the great folks at Tyson and Perdue -- $18,000 per year.

What really will alarm the viewer is how a seed (soybean and corn) is processed and used by animals and us. About 90 percent of all foods has some ingredient from corn in them. Monsanto Corporation owns the "patent rights" for what farmers can do to these seeds. If a farmer decides to replant and clean the seeds, he or she can be met by one of Monsanto's team of investigators. The next step, you guessed it -- lawsuit. Naturally, the farmer has no way to win with a multi-billion dollar business.

I'm the last person who lives in a glass house. My diet is terrible and I'm a heavy smoker. Once again, this isn't about me. I highly encourage all you who read this to watch this must-see documentary. These corporations operate in economically depressed areas where the poor have little to no choice but work for these guys. At these factories, they perform one task over and over and over... It's really no different than how swine, chickens, and cattle are treated before their deaths. The way this industry is regulated, it will only be a matter of time before another health scare surfaces.

Arguing why college faculty aren't all liberals, long awaited return of 'Lost,' and scariest horror film of all-time, 'Paranormal Activity'

Little time to write and lots to talk about. I love this. You don't have an anal prudish editor with that fake bullshit, "This can flow better." Open your mouth and let's find out, jackass. This is why I enjoy the blogosphere. You don't have an editor's vision blocking your own.

Now that I've resumed a normal 8-5 Monday through Friday work schedule as a receptionist/procurement representative and still getting paid the same (for now), a man walked in wearing a University of Notre Dame sweatshirt. I spent most of my childhood living 5 miles away from this beautiful campus. And yes, I still hold onto my Catholic roots. In fact, every career personality test I've taken says one of my top career matches is a clergy member. Children? I kid. My personal near-death experience would have the likes of Christopher Hitchens even say, "Man, that's fucked up."

This man also had a no-nonsense approach. We began discussing our ties before he said how he could've become a pot-smoking hippie instead of graduating from the campus donning the Golden Dome. He proceeded by saying how our media is liberal and why he's a Rightie. I didn't solicit my political views but explained to him my history and journalism backgrounds. At one point, he looked pissed. Oh, well.

"The media is owned by corporations and corporations favor the status quo. I'd say what is said about our media comes from talk radio which is predominantly Conservative. You have a few Liberals out there."

I wish I had more time to talk to this guy. He had a ponytail and grey hair which made me think it's one of two reasons: 1.) He's wanting to relive his youth as a hippie. 2.) He's a possible film and art snob. Either way, I enjoyed talking to the guy. Anytime someone delivers straight talk is someone who quickly gains my respect. I just wonder what he's doing as a delivery guy for a distribution company with that Notre Dame degree. Wait. I'm one to talk with a degree from a much smaller and obscure school.

Lost

The greatest show I've seen on T.V. is about a mere hour away from its final season premier. What's attracted me to this show is what I've said since one of the first episodes, "We're all lost in a few moments." This is where I've connected with these characters and say to myself, "I would do the exact same thing." With Hitchcock-like filming and great acting, I'm confident albeit the science fiction in this show, we will end up seeing each character's spiritual journey come to a conclusion.

Paranormal Activity

Take a no-name director and two starring characters pulled off Craig's List and what do you get -- the highest grossing film of all-time. The film starts slow, but you will quickly gain vicarious experiences. Thanks to the simplest approach to making a movie through a hand-held video camera, this film intensifies. As it does, the events become more bizarre. Any casual or big fan of horror films should see this one. I've rated this as my new #1 ahead of Barbara Hershey in the early 80s horror film, The Entity.