I had a dinner with a couple of friends the other day. As usual, we did it for a longer time than first planned, especially since we all had work the day after. Stupid, but it’s the same thing every time. It’s interesting when I meet up with this group, because you never really know what topics will come up. You can be sure that the talking points during the evening will be centered around one main topic. This time, it was places you’d worked at a long time ago.
We went around the table and had to improvise a “story” about this workplace. When it came to me (I was last) I talked about when I worked in warehousing in New York. Judging from the faces around the table, there were people who had missed this chapter in my life. “Warehousing in New York, you say” said a friend and I nodded and continued.
So, one should remember that this period, working in warehousing in New York, occurred over 10 years ago. How would I remember what it was like? What was I supposed to say about my year in New York, in warehousing? I couldn’t even remember who I was back then. It was an impossible task, that’s what I was thinking before. But it turned out I remember much more than I first expected.
The difference between my story and the others was the focus. While the others talked about hard values at their old workplaces, I turned to other things. The first aspect of the warehousing New York period that I got stuck in was the smell. It had a certain smell, the place. Not bad and not good either. I wonder if it still smells the same. I wonder If I would recognize it if I smelt it today. If I would go: “Yep, that’s warehousing in New York for me”. I guess I probably will.
The other thing I talked about was the atmosphere. The feeling amongst the coworkers. Because there is always a certain feeling in a group, right? Two groups can’t be exactly the same, because no person is exactly the same. Everyone affects a group, and the group I worked in warehousing in New York with was unique. It wasn’t really like any other group I’ve experienced.
I hope I’ll have time to tell you more about this another time.