Ten hours......

4:15 am - Monday - October 29th - Campbellsville, KY - 41º F, 78% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the southwest.....clear today with a forecast high of 61º F.

The unspoken thing we had both been thinking about privately finally came around.....the first of too many to count 10 hour shifts at SDF1 (Amazon, Campbellsville, KY).  All the Amazon Fulfillment Centers have an alpha/numeric designation having to do with the local airport designation.  SDF is the international airport designation for Louisville, KY, and the '1' designates it as the first such facility in Kentucky.  When we worked at the Fernley, NV Fulfillment Center it was near the Reno International Airport, hence it was referred to as RNO1.  Putting all that 'inside baseball' stuff aside, as we walked through the employee entrance around 6:15 am we knew full well that we would not exit until after 5 pm on this Sunday, 10.5 hours later (includes 30 minute unpaid lunch).  No early release at 11:30 am as had been the case the first three days.

I still remember 6 years ago as we embarked upon our first 10 hour shift how optimistic I felt as I began that shift, and how deeply concerned I was at the end of that first shift about my ability to endure 11 weeks of nocturnal wanderings throughout the bowels of SDF1.  I eventually gained some equilibrium and did, indeed, endure the 11 weeks.  The minutes seemed like hours, and hours like days then.  This time around, being a solid 6 years older than I was then, and being fully initiated in the realities and mind numbingly  boring, repetitive nature of the work, I was properly concerned at the beginning of the shift, but emerged 10.5 hours later surprisingly full of optimism and hope.  My feet did not hurt, I was not disoriented, and it seemed exactly like 10.5 hours, not days.

Since we began our daytime meanderings around the 1 million square foot warehouse last week we have 'picked' exclusively in Building C.....the furthest point from the front entrance.  TLE and I both agree we are becoming bored with Pick Mods 'E' and 'F'.  I spent a considerable amount of my shift on P-2 and P-4 (2nd and 4th floor) of Pick Mod 'E', but finished my day in Pick Mod 'F', which has only one floor.  During that time I picked pretty much 99.99999% clothing.....there was one large bottle of washer detergent, but that was the only non clothing item I picked during my 10 hours.

As we emerged into the bright sunlight a little after 5 pm we both felt quite tired, and were grateful we would be home in less than 10 minutes.  As soon as we got home TLE put the chili on to heat up, and I grabbed a beer, and got off my feet.  Daylight Savings ends this coming Sunday, November 4th, so there will be no exiting into bright sunlight after that.  We will no longer see the sun going to and from Amazon.....it will always be dark in our world except on our off days.  TLE has started me on a daily dose of vitamin 'D' to compensate for the lack of sun.

We are making new friends.....right now there are Fred, Don and Diane with whom we get along famously.  By 8 pm we were once again in slumber mode getting our bodies rested for another 10 hour shift on Monday. Oh, and by the bye......my Dodgers exited this year's World Series with a whimper, losing to the Boston Red Sox 5-1 in the 5th and final game.....😞

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