Thursday morning, my body awoke well before the alarm I had set went off. This allowed me time to do a good chunk of meditation before showering, throwing on a couple layers of insulation, and microwaving some leftover cereal to eat. I was out the door by 05:00. According to plan, with steady pedaling, this put me at Open Harvest just in time for my orientation shift to begin at 06:00.

When I arrived, I saw that the big truck had pulled in, and was about to be unloaded. On the loading dock, M[i] was making ready for its contents. He waved and welcomed me to the party.

I went inside, removed my outermost layer of insulation, threw my backpack in the usual corner, and wandered back to the loading dock to see what was next. M[i] told me that L was in the dairy cooler, so I might go check in with her.

L told me how to clock in, and I began my shift doing the same thing I have done many times before as a volunteer: Taking cardboard out to be recycled. Yay!

Presently, head stocker "P" arrived, as did another helper, "R", who I've actually also worked with on a couple of previous occassions. (If anyone involved in OH ever happens across this, they will note that the cipher of this lettering system is real tough to crack.)

I learned the fine art of checking in the dairy stuff, verifying the expiration dates and UPCs, and routing it to the appropriate cart. After the dairy palette was all unloaded, R and I took the tofu cart out to the display case, and she taught me about the finer points of stocking that area. When we moved on to do the general grocery section, M[i] came along to help.

While we worked, we got into talking about the meaning of "certified organic", as M[i] revealed that the turkeys we'll be selling this year are actually not "organic" under USDA regs; this is simply because the farmer we're buying them from doesn't want to shell out thousands of dollars to undergo the government's certification, even though the way he raises them would probably be superior to many turkeys that meet the ever-diminishing "organic" standard.

I mentioned the latest I had heard about the attack on "organic" standards. M[i] said that last he had heard, it had cleared the House, but he didn't think it had gone through the Senate yet. J, who happened to be walking by and heard the conversation, said that not only had it cleared Senate, but the President had already signed the changes into law.

While this is obviously bad news (though not surprising), it is refreshing to go to work and find that pretty much everyone around you is conversant on these issues. As the leaders of this sad country try their best to keep everyone in the dark, there is strength to be found in gathering and sticking together with others who also have their eyes open to what is going on.

Just as I was really getting into the stocking groove, L pulled me away so that we could complete the business of paperwork, policy manuals, safety instructions, touring the store to point out stuff I may not have known as a volunteer (for example, locations of all the fire extinguishers). She also introduced me to all sorts of people working in different departments, some of whom I had been vaguely aware of before, but never had occassion to interact with.

I noted with interest that they do not require any drug testing. J, who was sitting in the adjacent desk, chimed in. "If you really want to be drug tested, we'll let you, but you'll have to pay the $175 lab analysis fee out of your own pocket." lol.

The policy clearly states that consuming alcohol or illegal drugs are prohibited while on the clock; L and J said that as far as they're concerned, what you do on your own time is your business as long as it doesn't affect job performance. Again, what a breath of fresh air!

The dress code also required clarification. I had to ask what was meant by the clause prohibiting t-shirts bearing "controversial subjects". (Does that include politics?) The answer: Use your discretion, but for the most part, wearing whatever political messages you want is actually encouraged, so long as it doesn't contain profanity. (He gave an example of a borderline case: wearing your "Bush Sucks" t-shirt to work would probably not get you reprimanded, but it still might not be a good idea.)

After the orientation was over, and L had practically worn her vocal chords to shreds going through everything on the checklist, she sent me over to the administrative office down the block to complete my W-4 and meet the administrative staff.

I went back at the store, did some more stocking before my shift was over, and then talked to P in grocery about volunteering for the sampling demo. She said that L would actually be the one to get back to me about that. Since L had gone out on break, she would remind L to call me about putting that together later.

Finally, before leaving, I grabbed my package of the super-fancy gourmet cheese that L and I had discovered in the writeoff fridge while we were touring. (To which she had said, "Jackpot!" Then quickly proceeded to write her name on one of the packages to reserve it, and encouraged me to do the same. "This stuff is the best." Tasting it later, I had to agree. Outstanding cheese. Imported from France, no less.)

I bought some cashews, and headed out into the warm, summer-like air. It was a perfect afternoon for biking around, lazing in the park, and then wandering back downtown to see if there were any movies in the cheap theatre worth checking out. Turned out there were.

Reflecting on it, I am now more convinced than ever that even though it might be adding a bit more stress and complexity to my life, going for this job was the right path for me. Job hunting manuals talk about finding a "corporate culture" you can fit into. For the most part, I've generally found such talk to be a bunch of Orwellian garbage, since virtually all the "corporate culture" I've observed in this country seems to be about eradicating people's individual identity and turning them into drone-slaves of consumerism. But at this place, I feel comfortable being who and what I "really" am. Even the mission statement is reflective of values I believe to be important. So maybe there does exist a "corporate culture" into which I can fit happily. Who'd have known?

Another thing of note: The hourly pay rate for my position at Open Harvest is a good chunk less than what I make at the gas station. Though I was slightly surprised by this, I wasn't going to turn it down on that basis, especially since right now, I'm only doing it as a supplement to my other income. (If they were to offer me a position with the same number of hours as my gas station job to replace it, I would have to seriously consider whether it would be worthwhile to take a pay cut.)

Since I elected to fill in the part about pay in the previous employment section of the job application form, I'm sure L must have known this. As part of my orientation, she handed me a chart detailing pay rates of every position in the store, including the management and administrative staff. It confirmed what I already knew: Nobody is getting rich off this place.

(Last week, while studying the annual report, I did a little math. Take the total "wages and salaries" number for the last fiscal year ($585,269) and divide it by the total number of names listed in the staff credits on the back page (52 by my count). Granted, probably many of these people are only working part time, but it still gives you a good idea of what we're dealing with.)

From the beginning, I have sensed that most of the people there are not doing it for the money. If that were what they wanted most, there are likely to be many other places where they could get more of that. It's about the love and the purpose. That's what makes it such a fun place to work.

While we were stocking, R commented to me that she loved working there because, "Everyone around here is so cool. There are no assholes, or people that are just out to annoy you or boss you around."

The next three days, I'll be working shifts at the gas station. Monday, I'll pull an evening at Open Harvest. Tuesday, I'll be doing both. (Not as a normal part of my schedule, but so that I can train for cashiering in case I want to substitute for someone else later on.) Busy times.

The other pressing issue is getting my car fixed. I know it's going to turn sharply colder before long. Another decision that became clear before I applied at Open Harvest was I would be willing to give up my almost-carfree lifestyle if necessary, at least for a while. Ironic, perhaps; taking up driving again in order to work at an eco-friendly shop.

The only decision I haven't yet made is how I want to go about fixing the car. Two obvious alternatives present themselves. One is to call a tow truck, send it to a professional mechanic, and swallow a nice big bill. (Which would almost certainly mean putting off my goal to be debt-free for another couple months at least.)

The other possibility is to have my car-knowledgable and perpetually poor coworker from gas land tinker around inside it. He more or less offered to do so for substantially less than what any real shop would charge. The other advantage to this method would be that I might actually get to learn a good bit about it myself, as I could be there to help and ask questions, instead of going to a shop and saying "fix it", then being left on the outside while they do all the work, and I am left ignorant and helpless.

Downsides to the second approach: It might not get done as quickly. Worst case, we might end up with a big mess and no working car. Also, though I'm starting to feel more comfortable with him, I still do not totally trust the guy.

I'll think about it more, and maybe talk with him more about it when we work together next Sunday. Whatever I decide to do, I need to do it soon.

But for now, I'm going to take a tiny bit more rest before proceeding to work.