A warehouse man, it's complex with many aspects to the job. I've been trained on most jobs but I only do two of them regular so I've divided it into two parts, before lunch on the pick and after lunch on the F.L.T.

Dawn, 04.30 hrs already?!? Oh my god I have to get dressed, ready and have a quick scoff before I leave. Can't make it past the front door without a strong coffee and a bowl of something. The journey to work is a haze of half finished dreams with black and white images, no colors allowed. Who drove today? Me? We arrive at work and the car park is filling with zombie like figures, shuffling towards the entry gates. My entry fob is buried in my pockets, the little black piece of plastic resin torture that allows us to work another day is pressed against the security device and it's a green light, the styles turn and I'm in. The point of no return has been met with as much dignity my tired soul can muster. Swipe in at the clocks and now I head off to find a coffee, one more, a little calm before the storm. Off to the battery room for a picking truck and A.M.T, my swipe card giving me the tools of the trade, three empty cages added to the list then I strap my A.M.T. to my wrist and I can begin.

A pickers dream, my A.M.T. is working first time, a blessing! I press send for my first piece of work and three cages of pop are waiting for me, quietly lurking in the aisles. I scan the printer for my first set of labels and make my way thro' the morass of half asleep humanity that is the morning shift, trying to find an easy route to my allotted work, calling out to the few people who can see thro' heavy eyelids, "Hiya butt", "Butt aye", everyone straining to get on with a job they love to hate. I arrive at my job place, half full pallets of ungainly and heavy pop 8 packs, staring me, taunting me. The effort numbs my mind and I try to loose myself in the work ahead, my thoughts drifting away to last nights dream, "BEEPBEEPBEEP. 5 MORE", back to reality and the job at hand, pick laddie, pick. The cages are full and the destination labels are on the side of the cages, telling me which bay to drop on, traveling there I can see how much work has been done so far, the bays still bulging from the previous shift, 10k, 20k, 30k, how much picked an hour? How many hours have I been doing this? Time is passing. Another job, my location is empty, P1 all the units needed to be picked in this location, the pallet needs a replen, fast! I move on picking units from half full pallets, full pallets, pallets to high for comfort, pallets full of Comfort and gradually I finish the assignment. Glancing at my watch it's nearly break time, one more job then some scoff

Break time, blink and it's gone

People are awake now, they're chatting in the aisles, having a laugh. Time for some pallet moves on the F.L.T. Four tonnes of high yield steel, oil, and electronics. I grab a scan gun and Interleave card and log onto the system to begin, what's going to be my first job? A let-down, someone else has been P1-ing empty pallets too, my truck glides over the hardcrete floor, it's powerful motor propelling it along on three wheels effortlessly, my destination, my pallet is in the D-level, I move into position and my forks start to raise, up they go, my eyes locking onto the markers on the mast for precision and they meet, I'm at the right level, checking before I reach out with the forks. They go out, into the pallet and pick it up, bring it down! Scanning the pallet bar-code quickly as not to block the aisle my next location is revealed, the other end of the warehouse I go. My place is empty, a miracle! I jump down and pull the empty pallet out and throw it on the ever growing pile of empties at the end of the aisle, cutting the endless shrink wrap I see the worth of my present job, wine, a good year too. The pallet's in and I press send for my next work, a put-away. To the goods-in bays searching for a pallet fresh from the suppliers to be put back into the racking, scan it now and I'm going to the tins for a quick job, two minutes to complete it, forks up, out, back, down, enter check digit and send, return for another, time for a break? No, not now, the machine has taken over, all thought has vanished, I'm in the zone, I am the truck. Soon my time to end is near, laughter is echoing in the near empty aisles now as the shift the shift is winding down and my butties start to find the canteen for a last natter. I release my hold over the inanimates in the building, turn the automatons off and park up, swipe off and say goodbye to madness. Thanks for your efforts lads. Afternoons can cope with the leftovers, maybe. I collect my lunch box from my locker, wash my hands to rid myself of the grim from labour, swipe out and head out towards the styles, repeating my entry moves, fob to lock, reversing the gate action, this time it swings in my favour and I'm free for a few good hours!

Home now and I can relax, unwind, forget the insanity that has passed before me, food, shower, housework, feed the cats before they eat the furniture and pick up the phone to say hello to friends and family, the p.c. goes on for a game, hi-tech killing with mouse and keyboard, I grab my rifle, 50 rounds of ammunition, two grenades and for an hour or so totally immerse myself with distant cyber pals as the endless digital war across the pixelated Russian steppe rages, and the Caucasus beckon!

It's late now, time for some sleep before it all begins again tomorrow, but I still have time to speak to my love, and again I Iook for new words to express how I feel, but then you already know.