Hooray! After three months of waiting I have started working in the library. I did have to ride a couple waves very early, though.
The first day I showed up for work I was told I wasn't needed and would be put on a waiting list. I don't think I have ever been hired and fired on the same day, especially not before clocking in. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed.
Today at lunch I saw the library secretary who had told me that I would be out in the waiting list again. I asked her if she was busy and what time would be good for me to stop by. This afternoon as I was walking to the education department to ask what the confusion was in the library and try to parley the job back, the commissary lady on our hall called out my name. I backtracked and said hi to her, and continued on my way. I heard my name again, so I went back to the window to see what she was calling me for. She just waved, so I waved back and kept going.
"Wait! Come back for a second," I heard from the window.
I walked back to the window again and asked, "What's up?"
"Do you want to work in the commissary?"
I thought for a second. Commissary is a good place to work. I can set aside things to be held until I go to store so I know they will be in stock for me. I'll say yes tentatively and, if the library conversation doesn't bring good results, I'll still have a good job.
"Sure," was the word that came out of my mouth.
When I reached education, I asked the library secretary when I could expect to be put back in the library. She replied that yesterday was a misunderstanding and that I could start right away. The other guys could train me before they left. Cool. That was easy. I got the job back quickly. Now I need to let the commissary lady know I don't need her offer after all.
For much of the day I had a mystery cellmate. I was moved out of the new arrival dorm into a more permanent spot. When I dragged all my stuff into the cell, I saw all the signs of an inhabitant but nobody around. No one claimed to be my cellmate in the dayroom either. After I finished unpacking, I went to the library to ask about a job.
When I arrived on the unit the education coordinator told me she would look into the library job and let me know if it was available when she called me in later that week. I still haven't been called in, so I figured I would go straight to the source. The librarian told me she could use an extra person. Step one complete. I happened to see the education coordinator in the hall and asked her if she remembered my request. She said yes and wondered if the librarian needed anyone. I told her what the librarian had just told me. About twenty minutes later the librarian came to tell me "Looks like I'm going to be your new boss." Step two complete. Now I wait for the job slip.
Back at my cell with a new book to read and new hopes for a better job, I still didn't see my cellmate. Who could it be? What's he going to be like? From the artifacts I could see - a Bible and Christian books - I gathered some idea. There as the call for rec so I was off again. Maybe I'd find out who the mystery man was when I got back.
No such luck. Even after dinner I didn't know who I was going to be living with. It wasn't until after my Bible study this evening that I came home to another person in the cell. The mystery man was here. He is a young Christian guy, both physically and spiritually. He told me he has education in the morning and works the rest of the day in the kitchen. It looks like we'll click well.
This spot seems perfectly prepared for me. I have the cell to myself all day for reading, writing and study. My cellmate is a Christian who I can both nurture and learn from. We probably won't butt heads much, if at all. It's as if God looked at my personality and habits and found the perfect fit.
My job assignment here fits the schedule I had at my previous unit. I am a dorm janitor on the night shift along with my cellie. He cleans our dorm while I clean the one next door. We turn out at midnight and stay out until 5 AM. All I do is sweep, mop and wipe down the tables. I have a co-worker, Matt, so it doesn't take more than an hour to finish. Then we sit around talking, go to breakfast at 3:30 AM, shower and hang out until we can go in. Depending on the guards who are working, we might go in early.I've also been blessed with a great coworker in Matt. He's a couple years older than me and reminds me of a lot of the guys I hung out with before my incarceration. We have plenty of time to just chill after we finish working, so we've covered all kinds of topics. We joke around, talk about family and old girlfriends. We found out that our charges are similar, both committed at a young age.
Matt is still very angry about how his case was handled and some friends who left him because of it. Like me, he grew up in church, but many people turned on him instead of embracing him like I have been by many folks. I've tried to be an encouragement and I hope he finds some hope for himself. Until then, we'll continue to play catch across the dayroom with balled up socks and quote stupid movies.
Last night the chaplain had an open invitation for us to watch a movie called Facing the Giants about a high school football coach who sees his community and football team turn around for the better after he puts his faith in God and allows God to work through him.
From what I understand, the movie was put together by a single church, so the acting and directing isn't the greatest, but it is a good story. Some of it was a bit much for some guys and they just laughed but it was an alright movie.
After the movie I talked to one guy for a while and he asked me if I wanted a job on the electrician crew. I initially said no, but then I said I would think about it. The electrician's boss is a Christian guy who is really active in the community around here. I wouldn't mind working under him, but I also have some cool guys in the dorm with me who are good for a lot of fun conversation. I'll be praying about it until I get a clear answer.
Last night was a long one. We were not called out for work until after midnight because it took them (the guards) too long to clear their count of inmates for the unit. No one was missing; the guards were just moving slowly.
Once we finally got out to work, I was able to finish my assigned dorm in about fifteen minutes, less than my usual time. When I left the dorm to check in and go home, the boss for the night told me I needed to clean another dorm. Alright. I was ready to get back to my dorm, make some food, and maybe play a game of Power Grid if anyone else was in the mood. Not yet, though.It took about an hour to clean the next dorm: scrub the showers, wipe them down, scrub and rinse the floor, wipe the sinks. Again, I left the dorm and checked in to go back to my dorm. Nope. There's another dorm that needs to be cleaned, but "you have to wait here until I finish this count."
At 2:30 count was cleared and I went to clean the third dorm of the night, a record for me. Luckily, I had help and we knocked it out quickly. Finally, I can go back to my dorm to clean up and eat. I hope they get some more workers for shower crew because all that scrubbing is gross and tiring. I wish they would let us go back to our old schedule of one wing per night instead of doing the entire unit. All this on my "spring break", too.
This morning I had a rude awakening. The guard on my wing called me out to get my statement for a disciplinary case that had been written on me two days earlier without my even knowing about it. Boy, was I shocked. I didn't do anything to deserve a case being written.
Thursday morning I was wakened by a guard who told me to put the books that were on my bed into my locker. I must have not been awake enough for it to register because, when she came back to waken me to go to the clinic, she told me, "I've already told you once to put your books away. If I see them out when I come back, you're getting a case." Rather than making a fuss, I did what she asked and went to the clinic. Since my bunk was clear, I didn't expect her to write me up.
I really hope that the case is dismissed. I like my job and dorm, and would certainly prefer to stay where I am instead of going to segregation temporarily. I can't believe that guards act that way and get away with it most of the time.
Well, it's most of the way through the week and I am pooped. It's been a long time since I went to school from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM and I didn't have a job then, either - a night job, at that. I used to be involved in all kinds of activities after school: football, theater, track, soccer, Bible study. But, like I said, it's been a while.
I'm glad my day is so filled now. It feels a bit more like the busyness I'm used to on the outside. I just wish I could make my own choices and do what I want instead of waking up with my day decided for me. I miss being outside, too. We haven't had rec outside for about two weeks now. Because I'm not able to run, I've been doing work outs in the dorm - mostly pull-ups and hanging crunches. I hope we get some good time outside before it gets too chilly.
I thinl part of the reason I'm exhausted is my erratic sleep schedule. I don't think I've gotten more than four hours of straight sleep since the weekend and it's never at the same time of day, either. That's just a reality of prison life when you share your room with nine guys, a TV, toilet, and shower. Oh, if I could have a quiet place with a mattress, covers and a pillow - right now that would be heaven.
Last night Swat was at the door to the dorm talking to one of the lieutenants about moving to a bottom bunk and stuff about the shower crew. The lieutenant stepped into the dorm and told us to put everything down on a request - who wants to go where, who in the dorm isn't on shower crew, and anything else that needs to be done.
Swat asked me to write it because I've been able to get things done (supposedly) with the way I write. I put everyone's move requests first, then put down the guys who weren't on shower crew. These guys were going to be moved out of the dorm. I wasn't sure if Ugly wanted to move out so I asked Swat about it because Ugly was asleep... or so I thought
Apparently Ugly was not sleeping because he shot up and demanded to know why it mattered. I explained what I was doing when he shot in.
"Are you trying to kite me out of here?!"
Kiting someone is one of the most disrespectful and shady things a guy can do in prison, just short of snitching. It is effectively kicking someone out of a dorm by complaining to the guards. I was not trying to kite him out.
"No, I'm just wondering if you were still trying to get on the shower crew or if you were trying to go to the kitchen. Lieutenant wants it on paper."
"If I want something done, I'll do it myself! You don't need to worry about my business!"
"I'm trying to help you because the lieutenant can make things happen. I just didn't know what you wanted. But now I won't even put your name on here if it makes you feel better about that."
"Don't worry about how I feel!" Ugly screamed as he put his boots on to get up and fight.
"I'm not going to fight, bro."
"I know you aren't. I just want you to shut up!" He rose.
Swat stepped in to settle Ugly down and it was over.
Ugly has been in and out of prison since he was 12, with the longest time out being only six months. He's new in the dorm so I think he's still trying to win approval from his buddies like he's done for the past twelve years. I really feel sorry for him and have talked with him briefly about changing, but he does not welcome the idea - even with two sons waiting for their dad. Sad.
After work this morning, I filled out a request to the major and warden of the unit about the shower crew. For the past month we haven't had the right supplies or enough workers. The showers have steadily started looking worse and we've had to pull random people out from across the unit to help. I don't know if anyone with rank cares, but I like to see a job well done when I pout effort into it.
I asked to get towels designated for the shower crew so we don't mess up the general population's towels when we wipe down the showers. The scrub pads we had were actually cut up floor buffing pads that don't scrub well at all, so I asked for new pads. The oil that we use to shine and protect (sounds like a commercial) is coming to us in amounts that only shine and protect half of our showers.
To me, it sounds very silly to complain to prison officials about the tools they have given us work with. I just figure they will want the showers looking their best when the auditors come during the next few weeks. It's a very slim chance that this unit gets shut down for various reasons, but I really want to keep it open so I can get my education - or at least part of it.
Due to the missed class Monday the professor decided to do a make-up class on Friday. Unfortunately the make-up class will be held at noon instead of the normal 5:30 PM time.
Noon is like 3:00 AM to me because of my work schedule. I hope I'll be able to concentrate but I apologized to the professor in advance if I fell asleep.
In my personal reading I'm still struggling with Job. His friends' comments sound a lot like what I hear from guys here, both inmates and guards. I wouldn't say it's wrong thinking, but it is very misguided. This isn't a place where much positive thinking is done. Many guys are stuck in the same thought processes that led them here and the way the system is set up, there is nothing done to help them move out of those processes. Case management and counseling would go a long way toward getting all of us on the right track. And people wonder why recidivism rates are so high.
Last night I studied for two hours in expec-tation of having a test in Philosophy today. Instead of the test, the professor had us trade in our textbooks for a new one just as we entered the classroom.
I guess he likes the new textbook better.
The test was called off and we told to read about forty pages for Wednesday's class. What a change of pace!
With the new(ish) schedule for work and classes, I'm not able to go to recreation during the week anymore. I'm in classes during the evening rec and asleep during the morning rec after staying up all night working. I really miss being able to go out and run on the field. It was my only alone time between staying in a dorm with nine other guys all day. Hopefully rec will be available on the weekends. This past weekend they were short-staffed while visitation was going on so rec didn't occur.
I got last night off from work even though most of the other guys went out. I guess they don't quite honor federal holidays around here despite the title Labor Day.
I actually like my job pretty well. The hours are odd but fit my schedule just fine. I'm used to staying up all night for the quiet anyway. I like being able to move around the unit and see different people every night. I'm often able to talk with my friends in the other dorms that I otherwise wouldn't see.
I'm still having trouble with courage to share my faith. I know I should be having purposeful conversations with guys, but I just don't know when to do it. The dorm has guys who will jump in to cannibalize conversation and I'm always running or playing soccer while at rec. It's something I want to do more often but can't find good opportunities.
