Work

Hooray. I hadn't worked in a couple months, so I quite happily accepted a one day job two hundred kilometers (Imperial is so 2008) away in Palmerston North. Was pleasantly surprised to find myself staying in a one bedroom luxury apartment featuring not one, but two plasma TVs broadcasting nothing worth watching. No worries, grabbed a late night kebab from a Turkish joint and hit the sack. Woke up at 5am the next morning and got to work.

Conditions were lovely.



Other sites I've been to had roofs over their loading docks, this one not so much. I rolled up in jeans and a sweatshirt and quickly found myself soaked.

My title today was Inspector. My duties were to inspect containers bound for Venezuela contain New Zealand Milk Products. Specifically, whole milk powder. Each pallet is sold for 10-13k. I questioned the man in charge, Carl, if there was a shortage of cows in Venezuela. He didn't know.

My job is very technical. I take a photo of the empty container. I take a photo of the half full container. I take a photo of the full container. All while making sure no drugs, guns, or babies find their way into the container.



The pay is good. $20 an hour for the 13 hour day I worked. They also pay $.52/kilometer driven (400k's total), cover travel time, compensate for over night time away from home, and pick up accommodation. Not bad, I reckon.

Back in Taranaki now. Thunder, rain, and hail, oh my. Debating whether or not to hike up the mountain and enjoy the storm from a high altitude vantage point or hang out at sea level drinking tea and reading books. You may say that I could bring the tea and books up the mountain with me. That is a good point, friend, and perhaps what is going to happen.

Also, my favorite jeans died today. If you've ever seen me, chances are you've seen the jeans. They are (They were?) grey. A few months ago I tore a hole in the crotch, but I still wore 'em no worries. My mum patched the hole and they were as good as new. After thousands of miles of walking and bike riding, the entire butt section wore paper thin and silky soft. I knew it was only a matter of time. They met their demise today. Oh how I wish I could go back to 1980's Spain and grab another pair. They were my greatest thrift store find to date. Sad day.