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At almost 8AM, I followed an army of teachers and students out of the LRT station, into an office building, to a queue for the elevator. Most of the teachers got off on different dedicated floors for grading, and I continued to follow as the students queued to sign in on a hand reader.
This is the Alberta Education "Marking Centre". It's where all of the provincial school exams go to get, well, graded. The massive army of teachers does the actual marking, but there's another regiment of people who unload the papers off trucks, then sort, tag, label, and otherwise prepare them for said marking.
I get to scan - *BEEP!* - the barcode on each exam paper to register that it has been received. After each packet (representing usually one exam subject from one school) I print off a checklist thing (then go to the printer to get it - this means I have to stand up and walk just about every 30 seconds, sometimes) and attach it to the packet, then pass it off to someone else to check the names on the papers. The lower-level standardized tests require some additional input so I'm not doing those; I'm just doing the diploma-level exams since those are easier - and are a higher priority (students need these grades to get into university and stuff!).
I keep *beep* *beep* *beep*ing through the piles of paper pretty quickly. The whole processing... uh... process is very linear, and so while my supervisor brings me new stacks of packets, she doesn't always do so fast enough and I have to get up and go bug her about MOAR WORK PLZ.
It's definitely really mindless and so generally time passes quickly, but the room is well-lit and there are windows and lots of people milling around doing their things, so it doesn't feel just like a factory assembly line. And given that I managed to get the cozy sit-down job, I don't need to wear old, worn-out t-shirts to work, either. I can dress up a bit. Yay! It's also nice that the job is downtown during office hours, so there's LOTS AND LOTS of people going to/from work via bus/LRT at the same time as me, so I don't have to feel like such a loser, being the only one taking the bus while everyone else has their own car. And that it only takes me ~20 minutes to get there.
I asked some of the people who started earlier whether they knew how long this job is expected to last. It sounds like probably 4-6 more weeks. Which means I still can't go home and relax and play piano all day for a while. My dad says that he's willing to drive me home on a Friday night and drive me back on Sunday night if I want a little weekend escape. Maybe even this weekend.
I almost really want it.
Okay, I want it.
<kyrasantae> work was slightly entertaining
<kyrasantae> another one of the guys who started today is half-finnish :P
<kyrasantae> his generic north-western european blood shows a lot more though
<kyrasantae> but my finn-radar went off nonetheless :P
His task is earlier on the assembly line, though, so I only get to see his initials on packet labels. Oh well.
Note to self: Special attention to the left hand. Find way to perform scanning / booklet-flipping operations with both wrists flat.
This is the Alberta Education "Marking Centre". It's where all of the provincial school exams go to get, well, graded. The massive army of teachers does the actual marking, but there's another regiment of people who unload the papers off trucks, then sort, tag, label, and otherwise prepare them for said marking.
I get to scan - *BEEP!* - the barcode on each exam paper to register that it has been received. After each packet (representing usually one exam subject from one school) I print off a checklist thing (then go to the printer to get it - this means I have to stand up and walk just about every 30 seconds, sometimes) and attach it to the packet, then pass it off to someone else to check the names on the papers. The lower-level standardized tests require some additional input so I'm not doing those; I'm just doing the diploma-level exams since those are easier - and are a higher priority (students need these grades to get into university and stuff!).
I keep *beep* *beep* *beep*ing through the piles of paper pretty quickly. The whole processing... uh... process is very linear, and so while my supervisor brings me new stacks of packets, she doesn't always do so fast enough and I have to get up and go bug her about MOAR WORK PLZ.
It's definitely really mindless and so generally time passes quickly, but the room is well-lit and there are windows and lots of people milling around doing their things, so it doesn't feel just like a factory assembly line. And given that I managed to get the cozy sit-down job, I don't need to wear old, worn-out t-shirts to work, either. I can dress up a bit. Yay! It's also nice that the job is downtown during office hours, so there's LOTS AND LOTS of people going to/from work via bus/LRT at the same time as me, so I don't have to feel like such a loser, being the only one taking the bus while everyone else has their own car. And that it only takes me ~20 minutes to get there.
I asked some of the people who started earlier whether they knew how long this job is expected to last. It sounds like probably 4-6 more weeks. Which means I still can't go home and relax and play piano all day for a while. My dad says that he's willing to drive me home on a Friday night and drive me back on Sunday night if I want a little weekend escape. Maybe even this weekend.
I almost really want it.
Okay, I want it.
<kyrasantae> work was slightly entertaining
<kyrasantae> another one of the guys who started today is half-finnish :P
<kyrasantae> his generic north-western european blood shows a lot more though
<kyrasantae> but my finn-radar went off nonetheless :P
His task is earlier on the assembly line, though, so I only get to see his initials on packet labels. Oh well.
Note to self: Special attention to the left hand. Find way to perform scanning / booklet-flipping operations with both wrists flat.
