May 15, 2015
Another Job Change at Taft Federal Prison Camp!
Well actually a shift change but that is a really big deal to me. I had the morning utility job in the kitchen. That entailed emptying all the trash from breakfast and lunch and mopping all the floors in the kitchen. But it also involved a lot of "special projects" such as pressure washing the floors, scrubbing the food carts and polishing the copper plumbing. While these jobs brought some nice variety to the trashier aspects of the job, they were also very hard on my lower back! I'm 56 after all and I also have a disc at L5-S1 that is not in the best of shape. With normal activity and key core exercises, I don't have any issues with my back (the McKinzie method of exercise is particularly helpful). However, squeegeeing (is that a word?) for almost three hours at a stretch is a bit too much! So I am very happy to switch to the afternoon shift which is just your basic trash emptying and mopping.
The other good aspect of switching to the afternoon shift is that it will ensure that I can continue with my workout regimen. There is no indoor workout area here at Taft. As some of you may know, the Central Valley of California (Taft is located at the southwest end) gets very hot in the summer. So soon we will be having afternoon temps here in the upper 90s and 100s! I am dedicated to working out but I am pretty sure I would not enjoy doing it in those temps! Even if I did, they automatically close the outdoor workout areas whenever the temp goes over 100 here. So having an afternoon shift heading into the summer is perfect! Gotta stay healthy!
In closing, a friend of mine popped his head into our cube yesterday just before 4:00 count and he said he was excited about the future. He had just found out that you can have podcasts from your favorite business media outlets delivered to your smartphone. Like several people here, he has never held a smartphone and he is really looking forward to using this technology. He asked me if I was excited about the future and I replied, "I absolutely am!"
Have a great day!
David
