|
Post by Bean on Oct 1, 2020 8:03:41 GMT
Get me, on the ball!
It's definitely feeling autumnal here and I'm looking at the massive sycamore in our garden knowing I'll be sweeping up leaves for some time! I'm thinking of getting someone to come out and lower it, as it's getting way too big considering how close it is to the houses at the back. I'd like a smaller sort of tree there really, and one that doesn't release thousands, probably millions, of blasted little helicopters that all germinate and have to be pulled out each year! But the wildlife likes it so I will compromise!
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on Oct 1, 2020 22:09:43 GMT
The temperatures are starting to drop over here and now I'm trying to figure out how to keep working without getting sick. I can bring a jacket to work, but if I get too warm I should remove it, but there is no place to put it. This is not important; I can find someplace if I needed to- but I need to figure out what to do if I'm sweating heavily while working in freezing temps!
I've spoken with my fellow employees, and a few recommended wearing light clothing so as not to overheat and sweat too much. But still, those trailers won't be heated, and I'll be exposed to some nasty weather these next few months! I guess I'll have to play it by ear and see how to handle it.
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Oct 2, 2020 7:30:07 GMT
I'm glad you're getting some tips - better than learning the hard way! Do you still need to drink loads when it's cold, or do they mainly push that when it's hot outside as well as you generating body heat?
Have you looked at running tops? They tend to be quite good insulating when needed, but also not making you too sweaty. They dry out quickly too!
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Oct 2, 2020 19:26:25 GMT
I was going to suggest a vest instead of jacket, and maybe a fleece one. I would be fine, as long as I kept my shoulders and hands warm. I'd definitely have to wear gloves, a fleece vest and a scarf.
I'm glad you got some advice from the workers who have been there longer. I hope it helps. There is clothing made to absorb the sweat. Hubby has some t-shirts, and he said they work great. I hope you find what works for you!
Cooler temps, definitely, though even in October it can get hot around here. 1981, Halloween, it was in the 80sF. The poor kids in their trick or treat costumes were roasting. I was nine months pregnant, and not doing a whole lot better. January 1982, temps dropped to -22F for a couple of days. The camshaft in our car snapped, when hubby tried to start it to go to work. We haven't had radical temps like those for a while, which is fine with me.
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on Oct 3, 2020 1:17:51 GMT
Today was a rare day for drinking water- I only drank one liter! Usually I drink three! I freeze a liter and carry it with me, and it stays cold throughout the first few hours as the ice melts. It was cool enough to where I wasn't constantly thirsty.
A supervisor recommended that for cold weather, I should get thermal socks, a long sleeve shirt (thermal T-shirt, perhaps) and a hoodie. Overdressing can make you sweat excessively, and you don't want this when you're laboring in 30 degree Fahrenheit weather (or colder)
I have the thermal socks already, and an anorak that might be useful. I'll look into a thermal undershirt. I still have some time; today I brought a jacket, but ended up leaving it in the car. It was warm enough in the building, and I was active enough to where I didn't notice the cold. (The temps were only in the 50's today over here.)
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Oct 3, 2020 6:51:04 GMT
I hope you quickly find what works best for you. Do people take in flasks in the cold weather?
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Oct 3, 2020 20:53:50 GMT
Bringing a bottle of ice and letting it melt is a great idea, especially when it's hot, and you really want cold water, not just water.
I hope the suggestions work for you. Vic always wears a thermal shirt under his regular shirt when he's snow blowing, as despite it being cold out, he's working hard enough to work up a sweat.
We were out in our hats, coats and gloves for our hike up to the highway this morning, as it was only 41F. Warmed up quickly once the fog burned off, but I'm still wearing the sweatshirt I started the day wearing, and I didn't get hot.
Foliage is peaking early this year, so we really have to get out sometime next week, if we want to go out at all.
That reminds me that Amber hasn't been here for a long time. I really hope everything is going well with them.
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on Oct 3, 2020 23:55:20 GMT
I hope you quickly find what works best for you. Do people take in flasks in the cold weather? I'm not sure if you say flasks, you mean small metal bottles of liquor? That'd be drinkin' on the job, which is frowned upon here!
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on Oct 3, 2020 23:57:29 GMT
Bringing a bottle of ice and letting it melt is a great idea, especially when it's hot, and you really want cold water, not just water. At the orientation, they recommended freezing an entire gallon! Although this is a good idea, and I've seen others do this, the liter-size bottle I had works perfectly for this as it fits in the cargo pocket of my pants, so it's always with me and I don't have to remember to grab it when I move around between trailers... which happens frequently!
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Oct 4, 2020 7:15:35 GMT
I'm not sure if you say flasks, you mean small metal bottles of liquor? That'd be drinkin' on the job, which is frowned upon here! Haha! We'd call that specifically a hip flask, I meant the big ones for keeping tea/ coffee hot! Not trying to get you fired, Baz!
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on Oct 4, 2020 16:39:09 GMT
Haha! We'd call that specifically a hip flask, I meant the big ones for keeping tea/ coffee hot! Not trying to get you fired, Baz! We aren't allowed to bring in anything that can't be seen through, for security reasons. So, all bottles must be clear or at least translucent. They mean business over here when they want to make sure no one is stealing customers' packages! I actually have to pass through a metal detector when I enter & exit the building every day. My steel toe boots always set off the alarm, but some of the security people are starting to recognize me & just wave me through.
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Oct 4, 2020 20:06:31 GMT
Illegal toes. That's a new one, lol We have a lot of different sized plastic bottles, and I try to reuse them until they fall apart, to reduce my footprint. I have one of those liter bottles. Love it I used it with frozen water in it during the summer, for my overnight water source. The longer it sat on the bedside table, the more it melted, but was rarely totally melted by morning. Still cold
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Oct 5, 2020 8:03:02 GMT
I just read a book called The Warehouse, which is basically about an Amazon-like company who go several steps further to the point they're pretty much the entire US economy. Climate change has left much of the world barren and they're close to monopolising power supplies too.
They have all their employees living on site (each one across the country is the size of a city) and wearing trackers so they can control everything both while people are working and supposedly at leisure (people spending too much time together and forming any sort of close bond quickly find they're out on different shift patterns). Employees are constantly set against each other, having to earn their place.
For pickers, their tracking watch glow screens are green, amber or red depending on whether they're deemed to be working at an appropriate pace. There are safety harnesses for climbing the high shelves - they're not actually given time to use them, but are blamed when they fall off and break a leg desperately trying to get good stats at the end of their shift.
Your employers sound much nicer, Baz, but there are elements of the relentless pace and security measures that remind me of the book!
I know you can get insulated glass infusers for tea, so I could theoretically take a flask of mint tea in? I'm not sure if the glass would be allowed though!
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Oct 5, 2020 19:51:07 GMT
I doubt glass would be allowed, though the best thermos bottles are lined with glass. I think it's the danger to the user the company wouldn't want. If the glass broke, and the drinker was badly cut, the drinker wouldn't be working.
There are some plastic thermos bottles that are supposed to be unbreakable. My concern with them is their size. If I need a lot of water, or broth, most of them don't hold very much. 2 cups, maybe.
What happens if the loader has to go to the bathroom? Do they stop the conveyor belt, or does someone have to take over for the person needing the loo?
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on Oct 6, 2020 0:39:30 GMT
What happens if the loader has to go to the bathroom? Do they stop the conveyor belt, or does someone have to take over for the person needing the loo? I had to watch a trailer while the loader went to the washroom- this worked okay, as my own trailer was down to a trickle. I would imagine if you're dealing with an avalanche of packages, you pretty much have to wait until there's a lull in the flow. I couldn't see the management saying no if it was an emergency. During the hot weather, I barely had to go since I was sweating out most of my liquids. Currently I need only go once or twice during the shift, and I wait until there's a break or things slow down briefly.
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Oct 6, 2020 7:18:01 GMT
Which company was it that had their workers wear nappies so they weren't slowed down by toilet breaks? I'm not suggesting that as an option, just wondering!
|
|
|
Post by 3piggles on Oct 6, 2020 18:26:41 GMT
Case Farms, a poultry processing company with plants in Morganton, North Carolina and two in Ohio. The US Dept. of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration placed Case Farms on the Severe Violator Enforcement Program for employers who demonstrate a willful disregard for the health, safety and welfare of their employees. This was in 2016, so no idea if they've changed their policies, or if the tRump Administration gave them carte blanche to earn as much money at whatever cost to human and animal life. There are US companies, usually in low paying, bad working condition jobs, that treat their employees little better than slaves. Even when companies like Amazon lose lawsuits forcing their employees to use their own, unpaid time to stand in lines to be checked that they haven't stolen anything, some companies figure they're far enough below the radar no one will be looking at them. These are Trumpholes, through and through
|
|
|
Post by bazookagoof on Oct 7, 2020 0:19:27 GMT
That would not have flown with me, I assure you! If a company said, "here, put this on when you have to go", and that company was not NASA and I was not an astronaut, then there would be BIG problems!
|
|
|
Post by Bean on Oct 7, 2020 7:39:30 GMT
Excluding NASA from that veto is a good idea, Baz - you never know, especially if your brother has contacts!
|
|
|
Post by amber89 on Oct 7, 2020 15:07:36 GMT
Hey all... I know it's been ages since i last was here... i think it was somewhere around late spring when i last was here. So yeah, i spent 3 wonderful months in Vienna. No real vacation this summer, except 4 days spent in the mountains between Austria, Italy and Swiss...went there to visit my FIL. Online exams at the end of the semester went fine, grades were not as good as i expected, but i moved on.
I came back to Copenhagen at the end of July, for a language course. Whole August was busy with an intensive Danish language course. Was a really nice thing, made also some new friends and enjoyed the month-long summer in Copenhagen. Went to the beach and got to swim. The Baltic Sea was unexpectedly warm (around 18C), but the water was feeling amazing when outside were around 30C. I even got a tan Haha!! After the course i went for another 10 days back to Vienna, enjoyed some more sun.
I am now back in Copenhagen, since September already. University started with face-to-face lectures, but in a restricted manner (we have to wipe every single time the tables and chairs, lectures with more than 30 people are moved either online or happen in shifts, the library has a reduced capacity, the canteen has only finished meals no buffet). All administrative staff is working from home, only teachers and students still come every day at the university. The exams seem to happen online this semester. The numbers of infections at universities increase...i think that pretty much everyone was at least once under self-isolation for coming in contact with someone who tested positive. I was in self-isolation for two days after a girl in my danish class tested positive. Luckily, my test came back today and it's negative.
I have given up on finding a student job in Copenhagen. For this semester i have absolutely no time, i barely manage to sleep enough. I have a very time consuming project (any one of you familiar with the Medical Devices Directive??) a lab course (fingers crossed that the experiments work out well and i will also manage to publish my first paper) and a Pathophysiology course (fingers crossed that i pass it on first try).
Hubby had last month his PhD defence, which he passed with flying colours. He is now searching for a job, either in Denmark, Austria or Germany (with some limitations). So far little luck, since most companies are not starting projects or hire in this uncertain times. But at least thee PhD is finished and he can breathe relieved; it was a very nerve-wracking time.
|
|