Transferred

We've been transferred on a state of emergency basis to make sandbags for the province. This means night shifts... dun dun dun (or however that dramatic sound effect goes).

I feel like a zombie waiting to go back for another painful session of mindless assembly. Sandbagging takes its toll and it's worse when it's all night long and you're just filling the bags. I'm sure there are 100 people that can attest to that at our current branch. Tough stuff (especially mentally), I ain't gonna lie. It did help having good friends stand beside you and make you laugh hysterically though. I am definitely thankful for that. Anyways, I'm not going to go on about what kind of work it is because it's simple, so here's a brief summary: There are two massive machines that distribute the sand to multiple groups who assemble the bags and toss 'em in a front-end loader. This goes on for 10 hours. Yes, it is boring. So to keep sane we obviously kept ourselves entertained throughout the shift. Here are a few of the things we ended up doing:

1. We laughed at how it felt like a prison. Herding in after break, getting a less than five minute break in between loads, being in a rundown warehouse. Maybe it was more like a drug operation... everywhere you looked you saw bundles of white bags! Actually, midway through (and this was my favourite quote of the night), Dan made a comparison: "This is purgatory."

2. We laughed for no reason.

3. We played that ammo, gun, shield/block (rock paper scissors elaboration) game that apparently nobody knew about. It must be an Ontario thing...

4. We had a "Lunch break" (12:35am) McDonald's run.

5. We tried to throw the little pebbles from the sand into Ryan's back pockets... He still might not know that that was Chuck, Jess, and I. Jess actually placed zip ties in them too.

6. We talked about our childhood... you know, anything that would pass
10 FLIPPIN' HOURS BY!

Alright, so we survived one shift but it looks like this might go on for a full week! Unreal. It may sound like I'm complaining (which I blatantly am), but it actually feels good to know that we are saving many homes and properties in rural Manitoba by lending a helping hand. Apparently the Assiniboine River has not been at these levels in 300 YEARS. The province/country helped us in '97 and now it is our turn to help the province. Thank God for altruism.

Before I end this drawn out post I'll leave you with another Life Lesson from my cousin Charles, regarding the reflective decision to remove his gloves for tying the bags with zip ties...

Life Lesson: Nimble work calls for nimble fingers.

Now it's time for round 2.
Peace



(We always secretly hope that the machine breaks down...)