The job is going well. It’s cleaning, so I guess I’m a natural at it. LOL Really the biggest challenge is learning the schedule of when to come out and what to clean when. Eventually it will become routine and hopefully I’ll even figure out when I can incorporate my yoga workout between my duties. For now I’m doing my yoga after we’ve finished cleaning up at the end of the night, around 9PM but I’d much rather do it earlier, even in the morning, to loosen me up for the rest of the day. At least the consistent, daily, yin yoga workout is starting to loosen up the tendons and facia in my lower back and right hip. *cheer*
One revelation that has resulted from my working is exactly how poor quality the state boots are. Before I was working I only had to wear the boots for 2 hours a day at most, an hour at yard and an hour at gym. Now I have to wear them every time I go to work, which is on and off throughout the day from 6AM to 9PM and boy do you realize how little padding they have in them when you have to walk in them most of the day. Because they were too snug with the shower shoes slid in them as insoles, I took the inserts out and tried them one day and it was like running a marathon barefoot on concrete. I also figured out that my Achilles tendon wasn’t getting pulled when I played handball, it was sore because when I lace the boots all the way to the top they squeeze my ankles and were rubbing the tendon till it got sore. Now I only lace them part way up which loosened them up enough for me to wear the shower shoe insoles again. The next pair I request should probably be a half size bigger so I can fit the shower shoes in more easily without pressing my toes into the top of the shoe. It is just a process of trial and error to figure out how to wear them that makes them the most comfortable. Remember, I’ll have to wear state-issued boots at whatever job I have at my final prison too.
My primary job duty is to clean the showers and restrooms off the dayroom. Usually that involves just spraying down the sink, toilet and showers and wiping them down with a rag then mopping the floors which are normally very wet from people showering. Once a day we are supposed to give the showers a thorough cleaning including wiping the excess water off the walls, spraying them with degreaser to try and break up the soap scum, scrubbing and then rinsing the walls. They said to use a rag to wipe the walls dry and to clean them off afterwards but I thought I’d improve on their protocol today. We cleaned the windows on the guard bubble yesterday and we used a squeegee to do it so today I got it again and used it to wipe off all the shower walls. Then I went around and sprayed each one down which gave the degreaser time to work on the soap scum before I went around and scrubbed each one in turn and then wiped them down with a wet rag. It worked pretty well, though I think I can improve on it by taking a cleaning bucket around with me to rinse the walls off more thoroughly at the end. I guess I’m bucking for a promotion already. LOL Maybe I’ll get the “swing” porter position who alternates between serving food and cleaning the showers, and I think makes more than the roughly $1.20/day that I make. HAHAhaha. I could care less what they pay me, I’m doing it to show I’m a model inmate which I hope will help influence the parole board.
Jerry (or maybe Gerry) and I are getting along. I think he’s very happy to have a cellie that he feels safe with after being assaulted at the county jail. That must mean that the Lieutenant in admissions that chose where to send him must think I am not much of a threat to my cellie as Jerry is just about the most defenseless guy I’ve seen in here. Ok, Nick, Casper’s “grandfather”, from cell 1 is far more physically frail but Jerry kind of reminds me of a timid mouse who’s been toyed with by a predatory cat so he’s incredibly shy and reserved. He doesn’t go out to day room much, only talks to Mike and Ron at our meal table and walks the yard alone, avoiding contact with anyone else. I guess I’d be pretty darn withdrawn if I’d been assaulted in jail too.
I only have 2 problems with him. First, because he won’t talk to anyone else, his only social outlet is to talk to me and I really like to just listen to my radio, read or relax when I’m in my cell. My second issue is that when he insists on talking to me he invariably comes around to talking about God. *sigh* I don’t mind if someone has faith or is religious, Dennis was quite religious and spent a lot of time reading his Bible, but he didn’t try and make me talk with him about it. I’ve tried to be considerate, I even rearranged my books so he wouldn’t see the book Godless and freak out. Last night I headed off what would have been an uncomfortable situation, at least for me. As we were cleaning up at the end of the night Mike (Colorado) had somehow acquired a “satanic bible” and wanted to slide it under my door for Jerry to find and freak out over. I insisted that he NOT do that, as I’d be the one that would have to deal with Jerry’s reaction, not Mike and Mike was respectful enough (of me) to not do it though he did slide it under another guy’s door to try and freak him out. *rolls his eyes* It really is like being locked up with a bunch of Junior High kids with no way to get away from them. What I wouldn’t do to be alone in a cell and be able to get away from EVERYONE for a few hours a day, but that isn’t in the cards for the next 7-14 years. *sigh* At least Jerry is polite and respectful, I could do faaaar worse for a cellie.
With the new job my reading has significantly decreased and of course that would happen right when I start Moby Dick. Ha. I suppose I’ll be at D&E long enough that I’ll still be able to finish it. *chuckle* I should be getting Unjust from Amazon soon as it came out in paperback earlier this month and Mom had preordered it. It’s a non-fiction (about our “un”justice system) so it will be a slow read too. I really need to figure out the work schedule well enough that I can plan which breaks to use to read and when to do yoga but it of course changes depending on if it is an odd or even day. Plus I’ll have to set boundaries for when Jerry can bother me and when I don’t want interrupted. But once I get a routine down, then I’ll be comfortable again. *smile*
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