Tag: Pandemic

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,...

The Vegan Buffalo Chicken Wrap

Byadamk December 15, 2020 0 Comments
The store was dead. We were winding down and trying to close up for the evening. I was in the middle of writing the fresh pack production list for tomorrow when one of our team members waved me down. She told me a man had a question for me. So, I walked over to see what was going on. I was met by a man partially wearing a bandana over his nose and mouth. It wasn't not actually covering his face....

My First Thanksgiving On The Grocery Line

Byadamk November 30, 2020 1 Comment
Thanksgiving is here and the holiday season is in full swing. The pandemic is still around trying to ruin all the fun and we are on a second lockdown in my city. Uncertainty still looms large over the heads of people in America and abroad. But when your life is on the grocery line those things are crushed under the weight of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole and the chaos...

My Plan of Action for COVID Times and Beyond

Byadamk October 23, 2020 3 Comments
The Pandemic has turned introspection into a way of life for me. Even at the onset of the lockdowns and uncertainty, I have tried to steer my path towards some sort of goal. If this is “life” for the time being, I am going to make the most of it. I’ve put my head down and tried to focus on the writing that keeps me sane and the work that pays my bills. The shift happened naturally given...

The Longest Summer

Byadamk September 25, 2020 0 Comments
When friends and family ask what I’m up to on any given night or on the weekend I usually respond, “I’m just laying low.” They give empathetic replies because for the most part they are doing the same. This year has worn the hell out of everyone but especially the people that have been on the front lines of the madness the whole time. The news cycle, the virus, the Lindas and Daves --...

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...

Reflections – Finding Loved Ones In The Grocery Aisle

Byadamk July 12, 2020 3 Comments
One of my first significant memories after coming online and engaging in the world around me happened in a grocery store. I was finally of the age where I could walk through the store on my own, diligently following my parents, of course. And as I trailed behind my Mom and Dad, I would grab items at random and stare intently as I absorbed the newness of experience. During these days, old women...

The Mask He Refused To Wear

Byadamk July 2, 2020 3 Comments
Our freedoms feel significantly infringed upon as the pandemic expands in breadth and scope, and it makes you wonder about the validity of safety and freedom in theory and practice. It’s hard to know what to believe because people in high places tell half-truths. So, we trust our guts and the virus spreads. But it was going to spread either way, right? Right?!? Institutions fail in spectacular...