Freedom board, up close, at UMCP

Without giving too much detail about my work, I do data entry from 8:00p through 4:30a with overtime as required to get the work done, which in my case usually amounts to an hour, to an hour and a half each day.

Each night is an endless parade of music thanks to my music players (first my Treo 650 and now my Sandisk m250) and the awful, green screen of a DOS-based form for the data on a terminal that reminds me of my youth. Like almost all work, it is repetitive, but I am mostly left alone to my own devices provided I stay productive and non-disruptive.

Work is split into groups, with, ideally, four data entry people in a group. This week, since Monday, we’ve had two and a half, as one of our people is on vacation, and the one person we pulled does about 75% of what the vacationing person does. Half, because she starts after 1am to help us out.

I ask not pity for the job that I have chosen to pay my bills and fatten my bank account, just for the pads of my fingers, which these days feel like the wood on a freedom board, riddle with industrial-size staples.

In that light, if I have any obligations for web work for any of you whom I have served in the past, it’s not just a matter of time, as I get enough sleep and waking hours. It’s just that these days my fingers are tired.