![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I got temporary work for the past two weeks, packing boxes in a warehouse for the Celtic Whiskey Shop. Quite aside from the whole getting paid thing, I really enjoyed the work. Physical work with a little bit of spatial thinking ("will this object, once covered in bubble wrap, fit in that box?"; "which size of box am I going to need for these five objects of widely assorted size and shape?"; etc) is excellent for peace of mind, and the back and forth of fetching stuff is pleasingly active. The job was only just above minimum wage, but it's still money.
Bizarrely, I also had a lot in common with my co-workers, rather more so than I've ever had in an office job. There were fellow metalheads and techno enthusiasts, someone with a more eclectic taste in music than me (the only such person I've ever met), whiskey enthusiasts, cooks, a just-getting-started witch, a geologist, and a chap who, having overheard a conversation about ingredient substitution in medieval dishes, offered me work on the 25th and 26th as a chef in his second job, since they were having trouble finding anyone else (I didn't take it; I want those days off, and also despite years of SCA cooking, I don't feel qualified to walk straight into a restaurant kitchen as a chef).
Some observations from the warehouse: we saw - and indeed, have to spend some time seeing - the notes that people attach to gifts. There is a very clear correlation between the amount spent, and the way in which daughters address their fathers. All manner of address happens below about €60 - Da, Dad, Daddy, Pa, Oul' Fella, Father, and one instance, probably joking but not clear without context, of Pater. Between €60 and €150, give or take a bit, you only see "Dad", "Daddy", and "Father". And above €150, there is only "Daddy". (I am assuming that these women are actually addressing parents).
The address "to Dadlet and Mumbley" was also in the under €60 bracket, and is quite unique.
Other greetings I have seen, directed to either siblings or friends, include "Bonjour shithead", "Happy Christmas, Dickhead", "Yiz are all fuckers", "Howya wanker", "Yer a right cunt" (the entire message, accompanying a €249 bottle of whiskey), and "I was going to send you a bottle of piss, but I chickened out". There was one which the nice Romanian lady in charge of the orders wouldn't let us see ("it is too private"), and considering that we did see one that read "Best lesbian. Lick lick lick!", I do wonder what was in it.
Women frequently send whiskey to men. I saw one single instance of a man sending whiskey to a woman; they send gin, liqueurs, wine, vodka, etc, but almost never whiskey.
The most expensive one I packed was a Green Spot 12 Year Old, coming in at nine hundred and some euros. One of the people at my station packed something which had retailed at €5000, and was going by courier to Singapore.
Over the two weeks, there were clear waves of purchases - friends and family first, particularly parents, then siblings and in-laws. Then as that died down, there was a wave of corporate purchases; either "send us 16 bottles of this and we'll sort them out", or "ship bottles to these people with these notes, in the attached spreadsheet". And as that faded out, we had a wave of people re-stocking their cocktail cabinets, buying things like cherry brandy and bitters (there are SO MANY kinds of bitters, I had no idea) and industrial quantities of vodka. And strainers, mixers, and spoons of various sorts.
The body corporate was very good. Any day there wasn't enough work to keep us occupied until closing, we were sent home early, everyone was given a free bottle of something, and I got a paid day off on the 22nd (unheard of for temporary workers). Plus there was an employee discount by way of removing the VAT, which is 23%. And one of the boss guys - the owner, I think, or possibly co-owner - kept us plied with biscuits, mince pies, and other goods pretty steadily throughout. It's also the first place I've ever worked where someone came around to check that everyone had taken a lunch break. I've made it clear that if they have more work going in January, I'd like to be in there.
Bizarrely, I also had a lot in common with my co-workers, rather more so than I've ever had in an office job. There were fellow metalheads and techno enthusiasts, someone with a more eclectic taste in music than me (the only such person I've ever met), whiskey enthusiasts, cooks, a just-getting-started witch, a geologist, and a chap who, having overheard a conversation about ingredient substitution in medieval dishes, offered me work on the 25th and 26th as a chef in his second job, since they were having trouble finding anyone else (I didn't take it; I want those days off, and also despite years of SCA cooking, I don't feel qualified to walk straight into a restaurant kitchen as a chef).
Some observations from the warehouse: we saw - and indeed, have to spend some time seeing - the notes that people attach to gifts. There is a very clear correlation between the amount spent, and the way in which daughters address their fathers. All manner of address happens below about €60 - Da, Dad, Daddy, Pa, Oul' Fella, Father, and one instance, probably joking but not clear without context, of Pater. Between €60 and €150, give or take a bit, you only see "Dad", "Daddy", and "Father". And above €150, there is only "Daddy". (I am assuming that these women are actually addressing parents).
The address "to Dadlet and Mumbley" was also in the under €60 bracket, and is quite unique.
Other greetings I have seen, directed to either siblings or friends, include "Bonjour shithead", "Happy Christmas, Dickhead", "Yiz are all fuckers", "Howya wanker", "Yer a right cunt" (the entire message, accompanying a €249 bottle of whiskey), and "I was going to send you a bottle of piss, but I chickened out". There was one which the nice Romanian lady in charge of the orders wouldn't let us see ("it is too private"), and considering that we did see one that read "Best lesbian. Lick lick lick!", I do wonder what was in it.
Women frequently send whiskey to men. I saw one single instance of a man sending whiskey to a woman; they send gin, liqueurs, wine, vodka, etc, but almost never whiskey.
The most expensive one I packed was a Green Spot 12 Year Old, coming in at nine hundred and some euros. One of the people at my station packed something which had retailed at €5000, and was going by courier to Singapore.
Over the two weeks, there were clear waves of purchases - friends and family first, particularly parents, then siblings and in-laws. Then as that died down, there was a wave of corporate purchases; either "send us 16 bottles of this and we'll sort them out", or "ship bottles to these people with these notes, in the attached spreadsheet". And as that faded out, we had a wave of people re-stocking their cocktail cabinets, buying things like cherry brandy and bitters (there are SO MANY kinds of bitters, I had no idea) and industrial quantities of vodka. And strainers, mixers, and spoons of various sorts.
The body corporate was very good. Any day there wasn't enough work to keep us occupied until closing, we were sent home early, everyone was given a free bottle of something, and I got a paid day off on the 22nd (unheard of for temporary workers). Plus there was an employee discount by way of removing the VAT, which is 23%. And one of the boss guys - the owner, I think, or possibly co-owner - kept us plied with biscuits, mince pies, and other goods pretty steadily throughout. It's also the first place I've ever worked where someone came around to check that everyone had taken a lunch break. I've made it clear that if they have more work going in January, I'd like to be in there.