Adventures In The Land Of Zzzzz: Part One

I've just arrived back home after an exhausting 9 hour shift at the supermarket. Every year the store has to do stocktake, a manual count of every item in the premises. Tonight we covered non-food items (well most of them, we didn't count things like washing-up liquid, soap powder, and fabric conditioner for example). Next Sunday we have to cover all the rest of it, hence why this post is Part One, as I am also in line to do this onerous task next week.

As for the Zzzzz, that is because the job of stocktaking is extremely tedious and boring. We push everything to the back of the shelves to make it easier to count. Then once the store has shut, we count everything, putting cardboard tabs into the shelf edge strip with the number of each item present on it. Then we count each section and record it. Then that record gets double checked. Then it gets scanned (which in essence is a triple check), and then the scan printout gets (you guessed it) checked! While this is all very thorough, it is also very repetitious which makes it really hard to actually be interested in what you are doing.

Combine boredom with a lot of walking about, getting up and down and doing the same thing over and over, and you get weary pretty quick. Also, all of us doing this chore had to take our hour break before we started, when an hour to put our feet up in the middle (I think) would have done wonders. Although, saying that, it could have resulted in a lot of staff taking a nap!

Of course once all of the checking and recording is done, eveything on the shelves needs to be pulled forward again, so that the store is ready for tomorrows trade. Apparently there will be a lot more staff doing this next week (I heard a figure of triple the number working tonight), which will be good, even though next week we have a lot more of the store to cover than we did tonight.

I walked home with my mate Dan Shapter, the pair of us popping into a takeout on the way which specialises in fried chicken, to grab something to munch. I also snagged a bottle of cola as while I am tired I'm not really sleepy. I think I'll go and watch a DVD or some cartoons for a bit, and let my mind unwind.