K and I started our first day of work at the kiwi pack house yesterday.
We woke up at 630am.. even earlier than i usually would even when i was working in Singapore!! It was so bloody cold i didn't want to go out at all.
Anyway, we woke up still, made sandwiches for breakfast and lunch cause the pack house don't sell food. We were nearly late for work, but luckily we made it. Upon reaching, we were asked to wear gloves, a shower cap and apron and allocated to assembly lines with carton boxes. Then the next thing i knew, i was packing kiwis.. The kiwis came out on the assembly line, and i had to scoop them into a carton box and pack them.. then roll it out to someone who would stack the boxes up.
K stood in the line behind me. We worked from 8am to 6pm with 3 breaks in between. One at 10am for 15 mins, one at 12pm for 30 mins lunch and another at 3pm for 15 mins. It was quite fun.. and at be quite stressful. Kiwi packing can sound like an easy and brainless task, but there is actually a technique and a system behind the whole process. One mistake and it will be a mess cause the kiwi fruits just keep coming out from the line, and you have to keep up with the speed, and check for the quality of the kiwi at the same time.. so not as easy at it seems!
Plus, we had to stand on our feet for the whole day. By the end of the day, K and I were aching all over! It was so bad.. like the first time i worked as a waiter during my school holidays! Plus, poor K was transferred to dump unwanted kiwi fruits during the last 2 hours of our shift.. so when i saw him at the end of the day, he looked 80% dead from all the tonnes of kiwi fruit carrying! = ( And the environment is quite dusty and dirty.. got one pimple on my face already... K said we came here for the fresh air, and now we are breathing dirty air and dust.. haha.. so ironic..
K and I went to the supermarket after work yesterday to buy some groceries, and we prepared my favourite cold pasta for dinner yesterday and for lunch today at the pack house. So we had pasta for lunch today.. much better than the sandwiches we had yesterday for lunch!
Today was our second day at work, and because there weren't much kiwi fruits, we only worked half day until 1pm.
About 12pm today, the whole assembly line went haywire. It was still manageable at the beginning when we started our shift, but then it went crazy.. The kiwi fruits just kept rolling non stop out of the assembly line. There was no time for quality checks at all. We just kept scooping the kiwi into the boxes. At one point, i got stuck cause i had no hands to pack all the kiwis into the boxes.. I was so desperate i raised my hand and waved it frantically for help... One of the stackers came to my rescue cause K also had his hands full.. It was so funny!! Can u imagine me with my hands full of kiwi fruits and no hands and boxes to pack them.. and the kiwis just keep falling out from the conveyor belt. haha..
There are plenty of Malaysians here at the pack house. Actually, we got the job through a contractor who is also a Malaysian from Penang. We met a Malaysian chinese couple at the pack house and have started making friends with them.. Hopefully we can hang out on our off days.
Tomorrow is Saturday, and we still have to work.. sigh.. wonder when is our off day. Hopefully tomorrow will be half day again.. really don't mind earning less money.. haha.. = )
We woke up at 630am.. even earlier than i usually would even when i was working in Singapore!! It was so bloody cold i didn't want to go out at all.
Anyway, we woke up still, made sandwiches for breakfast and lunch cause the pack house don't sell food. We were nearly late for work, but luckily we made it. Upon reaching, we were asked to wear gloves, a shower cap and apron and allocated to assembly lines with carton boxes. Then the next thing i knew, i was packing kiwis.. The kiwis came out on the assembly line, and i had to scoop them into a carton box and pack them.. then roll it out to someone who would stack the boxes up.
K stood in the line behind me. We worked from 8am to 6pm with 3 breaks in between. One at 10am for 15 mins, one at 12pm for 30 mins lunch and another at 3pm for 15 mins. It was quite fun.. and at be quite stressful. Kiwi packing can sound like an easy and brainless task, but there is actually a technique and a system behind the whole process. One mistake and it will be a mess cause the kiwi fruits just keep coming out from the line, and you have to keep up with the speed, and check for the quality of the kiwi at the same time.. so not as easy at it seems!
Plus, we had to stand on our feet for the whole day. By the end of the day, K and I were aching all over! It was so bad.. like the first time i worked as a waiter during my school holidays! Plus, poor K was transferred to dump unwanted kiwi fruits during the last 2 hours of our shift.. so when i saw him at the end of the day, he looked 80% dead from all the tonnes of kiwi fruit carrying! = ( And the environment is quite dusty and dirty.. got one pimple on my face already... K said we came here for the fresh air, and now we are breathing dirty air and dust.. haha.. so ironic..
K and I went to the supermarket after work yesterday to buy some groceries, and we prepared my favourite cold pasta for dinner yesterday and for lunch today at the pack house. So we had pasta for lunch today.. much better than the sandwiches we had yesterday for lunch!
Today was our second day at work, and because there weren't much kiwi fruits, we only worked half day until 1pm.
About 12pm today, the whole assembly line went haywire. It was still manageable at the beginning when we started our shift, but then it went crazy.. The kiwi fruits just kept rolling non stop out of the assembly line. There was no time for quality checks at all. We just kept scooping the kiwi into the boxes. At one point, i got stuck cause i had no hands to pack all the kiwis into the boxes.. I was so desperate i raised my hand and waved it frantically for help... One of the stackers came to my rescue cause K also had his hands full.. It was so funny!! Can u imagine me with my hands full of kiwi fruits and no hands and boxes to pack them.. and the kiwis just keep falling out from the conveyor belt. haha..
There are plenty of Malaysians here at the pack house. Actually, we got the job through a contractor who is also a Malaysian from Penang. We met a Malaysian chinese couple at the pack house and have started making friends with them.. Hopefully we can hang out on our off days.
Tomorrow is Saturday, and we still have to work.. sigh.. wonder when is our off day. Hopefully tomorrow will be half day again.. really don't mind earning less money.. haha.. = )
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May 24, 2009 at 1:44 AM
keke, it's true what they say. No matter where you go, you will always seek out the nationality you are most familiar with. I hope you make lots of Malaysian friends soon!
How long are you working at the pack house?