Essential Personnel Archives - Life on the Grocery Line

Do More with Less

Byadamk February 26, 2021 0 Comments

Every night, at work, I feel rushed or squeezed or pinched in some way, like god is my older sister trying to test my resolve until I snap. Either someone calls out, a customer becomes irate over nonsense or a freezer goes down and we suddenly have to move all the product to another one downstairs. None of this changes the fact that I need to write the production list, employees are in my ear,...

When Everyone Is Jumping Ship

Byadamk September 9, 2020 1 Comment

I am barely into the fourth week of my new position at the grocery cathedral and people are jumping ship. In a production meeting our manager informed us that almost everyone in a leadership position of the department is leaving or attempting to leave the glass house that is prepared foods. Every industry is different but that’s the name of the game in the grocery world. The turnover is high...

From Inside The Grocery Cathedral

Byadamk September 1, 2020 2 Comments

I am two weeks into a different phase of my life on the grocery line. I moved into an inventory and receiving position for our prepared foods department. It’s a nice change of pace and I have more time to work on my book among other things. And now that I’ve had a chance to work behind the scenes, I am beginning to see the store in a more revealing and complete light. And I know now that it...

Reflecting On My Grocery Line Hustle

Byadamk August 16, 2020 0 Comments

In 2001, the world was entrenched in strange and uncertain times much like the one we find ourselves in nearly twenty years later. The tragedy started more localized in the United States but the effects were certainly global as an endless war began. The internet was growing and information was becoming more readily available, although, we wouldn’t see the exponential expansion of information...

Love in the Time of COVID

Byadamk July 22, 2020 1 Comment

How does one find love during a time when human contact can be deadly? That question is extremely dramatic, I know, but the enduring and ostentatious nature of its framing doesn’t negate from the fact that it is true. We should always be cautious about the activities we participate in. The pandemic is no exception. I am not actively trying to get me or others sick. But there comes a time in a...

Social Distance Dinner Party

Byadamk June 17, 2020 0 Comments

I was going to write something about my city opening back up and everything returning to a sense of normalcy, but now we are on lock down again. There has been a curfew in effect starting at 8pm for a few days. It is only for the city and county where I live and from what I can see it’s primarily enforced in the areas that have protesters. Nonetheless, we have lost some freedom, again. On the...

The Mundane Apocalypse

Byadamk May 21, 2020 3 Comments

Linda is back after being trapped with her family in a stunning estate for three weeks. Her cart is full of a few hundred dollars’ worth of organic and local groceries that she picked out all by herself now that she has adjusted to life without Consuela. She fidgets with her mask as she watches me wipe down the belts and sanitize the credit card keypad. She’s annoyed. I’m OK with that...

The Temperature Station

Byadamk May 9, 2020 1 Comment

Almost immediately after the pandemic began our store started taking the temperature of employees and vendors as they came in for their shifts. The resistance to change was obvious as I watched the annoyance build on their faces when I asked them to do certain tasks. They were small and easy, but different and seemingly asinine for both my co-workers and me. But I needed the hours and they were...

The Global Schism

Byadamk April 30, 2020 3 Comments

When I wake up in the morning, I think about the virus. Once at work, the signs of COVID-19 and its effects are all around me. If I glance at my phone on break or lunch, I am reminded of a bleak modern reality. Even after work, I feel no escape when I join a video “meet up” for happy hour with friends, because we would be hanging out in person if it wasn’t for the asshole in the room. The...

The Meltdown

Byadamk April 26, 2020 7 Comments

For most of April, I’ve worked closing or midday shifts. My circadian rhythm isn't set for early mornings. But today I had an opening shift. I was struggling to stay awake when should have been in top form. We are busiest in the AM on weekdays and the mood is not fun. The stresses of modern pandemic life make people anxious as they rush around. Conversations are nowhere to be found. People...