Pesheur

Unfinished Business
2005-05-19 16:21:02 (UTC)

Summer Working

12:04pm. 051905

Well I'm on break from work and thought I'd pop in for a
spell. My job is on the grounds crew here at the University
where I teach and I have to say it's probably the best job
I could have hoped for. I'm outside all day, working with
my hands with people who are so laid back that I can work
as fast or as slow as I want. The only problem is that
sometimes the people I work wit are so laid back we spend
too much time just screwing around and the day goes by
really slowly.

Today, I'm working with two people: Steve (a fifty-year-old
blues musician whose been working for the grounds crew and
the steel plant for thirty-two years), and Matt (a 19 year
old college sophomore from a college in Winn Falls). Steve
is really cool and relaxed, but he also want to spend as
much time on one project as possible in order to avoid
doing too much work. He mumbles a lot in a think Latino
accent that I think may (or may not) be Dominican. Matt
goes along with anything anyone insists on and occasionally
quietly bursts into a country song. He tries to adopt an
attitude of self-assurance, but is often undermined by a
somewhat careless work ethic.

I think he and I are still trying to learn the ropes around
here. Working with a bunch of lower-middle class, middle-
aged, (mostly) white men forces me to adapt to a
significantly different discourse of that of the English
academics, scholars, and researchers that I am accustomed
to.

But it feels good and it feels familiar. I grew up around
these kinds of people. They're all liberal thinkers
politically as well as being "down-to-earth" so I get to
hear some really great comments when the news is on in the
break room in the mornings.

Anyway, I have to get back soon. I'm shoveling topsoil
today, filling in wheel ruts along the sidewalks across
campus. For next time, I really want to talk about human
energy, discourse, and adaptation. 12:20pm.




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