Hand-on experience of Taylorism

I have always hated manual labour. I have probably been spoiled by people around me who always help me do stuff I can't do myself. Such as carrying bags. Climb ladders etc. Being small and a girl, and pretty weak, it's easy to get away with not doing anything. And I really don't like having to carry heavy stuff. It makes me want to cry.

Anyway, today out of all days, with me getting my period and dying of stomach pain. Of course, of course! It's the day we really go physical. The gallery was closed, because a new exhibition is going up and we are refurbishing the shop. This meant in the morning we got to clean all the frames with photos. Me and Jess drew a straight line across all the walls (to be able to know where the photos go up). In the shop all the stuff had to be moved out and around, and we had to play handyman and take down shelves and repaint etc. This was without success, because it was badly planned and we didn't have tools (imagine trying to unscrew without a electric screw thingy). We repainted bits of the walls to white (because it was dirty). It was so amateur! Imagine four girls trying to do the work of a four grown men. Sigh... On top of that. There were several transport unload/upload. First one I managed to dodge away from. Second one, didn't. Had to carry loads of heavy frames down three flight of stairs to a car that was parked like waay far away across the road. I could only take like one at a time, and the others could do two. Driver felt sorry for me, so he ran over the street once to help me.

The last thing of the day was the worst though. At 7pm, when we are all exhausted. A empty van comes. Apparently we have to load it with stuff from the shed, which was: 100+ boxes of Playboy cards. We made a little chain, and passed the boxes one after the other onto the van. It was seriously like Charlie Chaplin's "Hard Times". Stupid Taylor with his Scientific Management, put people in chain and make them do the same monotonous movement over and over again. How efficient. And how horrible. I now really admire people who work in factories.

It really is strange how WORK makes you do things thing you'd never do otherwise. It is like you are almost forced to do things you don't want to do, but you don't really feel forced. Because if the other interns aren't complaining, then I can't? I don't think I have ever done this much physical labour in my life, and I'm surprised at myself for being strong enough to carry it all out being this weak and all. You can only bite you lip and continue...