Monday was our last official day of school. No students (their last day was Friday), just us teachers doing our checkouts and sending grades and cleaning rooms. Well, I did all of that, sort of. (Clean room? Bah – I don’t know when I last had a clean room. I have four of ’em to clean, you know!) So yesterday was the first day of my summer job. Which is working on computers at the school. I have moments when I think “We’ll finally get everything done before school starts this year,” but usually I think “Oh my god! How are we going to get done before August 17th???????”

Yesterday, my main task was to help load up our old computers from last year, to take off to Access Computers in Trotwood. Finding people to take old computers isn’t as easy as you might think. We had 50 computers, 47 monitors (most 15″ CRTs, but a few 17″ CRTs), loads of printers – including a dot matrix, plus mice, keyboards, and software. Access Computers collects the old hardware and finds buyers, who ship them to places where there are NO computers, fix ’em up, and give them out to people in need. Ours were earmarked for Africa, I believe. We used the janitors and the hired boys to load up the van which the superintendent rented. The remaining monitors fit in dad’s truck bed. Since the Super, dad, and I didn’t think we’d be the best folks for unloading the computers once we got there, we decided to take the boys with us. It was their first day on the job – lucky kids! There were only 2 seats in the van and dad & I just fit in his truck, so they grabbed a chair from my classroom and put it between the two seats in the van. The Super drove the van & the boys, while dad and I took the lead in the truck.

Despite the detour once we got into Trotwood, we found the place. And my, what a place. It’s in an old Lock & Store-type place – there was a dusty Cadillac in one storage area – and there were skids piled high with old computers & monitors. The piles were taller than me. It turns out, they routinely fit 45 15″ monitors on one skid. 9 on the base and 5 high. Once you get to the third row, they start to reinforce with cellophane. It’s amazing. It’s what we ended up doing with our stuff.

The fellow who owned the place was a bit peeved when we arrived at lunch time. (He didn’t tell us not to arrive around noon when I called to confirm earlier that day, however). And because of an overzealous fire marshal, he was very strict about where we put the van. However, once we started to unload our stuff onto the skids, the owner took a liking to us. He was impressed with how we’d packed up the van. (That was all due to our primo maintenance guy, Bryce.) And we took instruction well. I watched as our tower of monitors grew. And our tower of computers was almost as high and didn’t require the Saran Wrap support.

The boys who were helping were in awe of the fellow who owned the place. He had Coke-Bottle-Bottom Glasses, a gut you could use as a shelf, suspenders & pants too big, and some of the scariest sideburns this side of a physics department. Still, he knew what he was doing and his service is an important one. He even suggested a local diner we should try out for lunch. The boys didn’t look to happy about the idea of diner food, so the superintendent suggested a pizza place he used to enjoy.

Used to is probably a good description. We went to Marion’s Pizza in Englewood. It was sort of an old fashioned concept. You ordered the pizza separate from the drinks. And apart from iced tea (and water), no free refills. Still, the super bought us lunch and the pizza was pretty good. The restaurant itself was a bit of a mess. And the men’s room was out of service. (Not that I was interested in the men’s room, but I was working with 4 men that day.) Best of all, FREE FOOD!

The boys will fit right into our summer crew. As they got into the building, one of them called out to the janitor “Man, we had a flat tire on the way back! We haven’t even had lunch yet!” I just had to laugh.

Today, I went into work around 9am and mostly juggled computers. I managed to get the monitors out of several classrooms and down to my chem lab for later disposal. (We’re hoping to go with some place who actually picks up the old computers, rather than us have to deliver.) I worked hard for four hours, and when I got done, was so dusty & dirty I had to have a bath when I got home. After I was clean, I zipped into Troy for Chinese take away, then it was home for relaxation & City of Heroes. Leftover Chinese for supper, and now I’m typing this up. Tomorrow I intend to work a full day, starting at 8am. Haven’t decided on Friday yet. I should work some Friday. Perhaps I will. Perhaps not. 🙂