Wednesday, October 5, 2011

An Official Member of Amazon CamperForce

It's official!  As of Monday, October 3, I have become a member of Amazon CamperForce.  There's even a domain site by that name although it's not up and running yet.  In other words, I'm a work camper at the Amazon fullfillment center in Campbellsville, KY.  I live in my rv and go to work 4 days at week in a warehouse which pays for my campsite and puts a little cash in my pocket.  Exciting, don't you think?

Well, ok, exciting may be stretching it a bit.  But I do like living in my rv in this beautiful state park and not having to pay a bill for it.  Yesterday was orientation and safety school.  Today, or I guess I should say tonight since I don't go to work until 5pm, is on the job training.  It certainly looks like an adventure in the making.  And I'm making a whole new set of friends.  Yesterday I met Carol who was one of the original workers from 3 years ago.  She and her husband are very nice.  They are camping at the rv campground in town which is just across the road from the warehouse.  But there are plenty of us right here in the state park - so far 10 campsites are taken by camperforce workers but more arrive every day.  I'm camped in between Lana who is a newbie like me and a very nice couple who worked here last year.  And Sandy is in a site across from us. 

What I really enjoy, besides the quick friendships I'm making, is seeing how differently we all live.  One couple has a very nice 38' class A with all the comforts.  Sandy has a 2003 BT Cruiser that she is totally reconfiguring on the inside to suit the needs of her and her 2 cats.  Lana has a very cute puppy named Alex and they live in a vintage 1970 PlaMore travel trailer that she is totally redecorating.  There are even some hardy souls here in tents I'm told although I'm yet to meet them. 

I guess I could have picked a location closer to the plant - my commute is 8 miles - but the state park has so much to offer:  water for the kayaks, trails for me and Gus to walk, caches along the trails, beautiful night skies, and a good internet connection.  TV requires a dish or something stronger than my antenna but I can get along fine Hulu. 

This week I will be working half days in a program Amazon calls "hardening" to get my body used to a more physical work.  After that it's 4 ten hour days a week or more if I choose to take overtime.  So I'll try to post more this week before the long hours set in.

2 comments:

  1. Have fun. I've heard it's hard work, hard on the body. Take care and stay in touch.

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  2. I had my orientation yesterday and start my first night at the Coffeyville, KS fulfillment center tonight.

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