It seemed like I’d be doing their gatehouse duty which, according to this patrol guy, was pretty straightforward. Either someone has a pass to get in or they don’t. If they have a pass, let them in. He said there were a few gatehouses, not just one. So that had my curiosity peaked a little higher. He said three of the gatehouses had bathrooms, one had a portapotty (which I didn’t mind much since he said it had hand sanitizer), and thankfully from what I gathered it seemed like the staff here were nice people.
Now let’s talk about how my real first day at the mill went. First of my three on-the-job-training days. I was given a short sleeve blue uniform top with a silvery patch shaped like our badge.
I was in a gatehouse with this U.S. Navy veteran named Tom who seriously reminded me of my buddy Tom from the firehouse. Given the nature of our job, I was also given a few neon outer layers; pants (to go over my black ones, duh), a baggy vest with short sleeves, and a hard hat that wasn’t hard to wear at all. It was made of tough plastic and I had to get this rubber glow band around it.
“Having worn a fire helmet, this thing feels more like a toy.” I said rapping my fist on it.
I’m not gonna lie. Working at Gate Nine was pretty hectic. People had different types of passes, and I had to pay attention to that so I’d check them into this part of the mill properly. Thankfully they were different than the visitors at the retirement home, but these were people coming in and out of work. So the ones coming in, pretty sure, had an actual time punch they’d have to meet. The people leaving, thankfully, didn’t. They were just in a hurry to go, which I didn’t blame them for.
At least the second day was easier. Well, after a very anxious drive and driving all over the mill just to find the right gatehouse again. Anyway, Tom and I worked together pretty well during my first few days for my on-the-job training. I hit the point where during the last couple hours I was politely signing drivers out of the mill without breaking a sweat. So at least I got the hang of it, mostly.
The third day of my training was in what we called Gate Three with this guy Vick. Thank God it was right there at the entrance I’d been using to get in the place. Unlike the last one, Gatehouse Three was so small that it didn’t even have a water cooler and spigot. ‘Ah, there goes my coffee.’ I remember being surprised that the little bathroom sink was lopsided like it’d been yanked out of the wall.
At the end of the day I finally got my Friday-through-Tuesday
schedule, having Wednesday and Thursday off. The tricky thing, though, would be
manning the gatehouses alone. ‘No more training for me,’ I thought. ‘That phase
is over. Just go to Gate Nine tomorrow, Gate Three on weekends, and do what
you’ve been told these last few days.’
1500 - 2300 Hours
• MONDAY: Gate 9
• TUESDAY: Gate 9
• WEDNESDAY: (Day Off)
• THURSDAY: (Day Off)
• FRIDAY: Gate 9
• SATURDAY: Gate 3
All 1500 to 2300 (meaning 3-11pm) shifts. This would be my schedule from now on. And I could still go to the Twin Valley firehouse on Thursdays! This particular Thursday I got to learn how to drive their ATV (having recently taken a seminar with the others), which gave me a pretty cool wake-up call from how tired I was.
Working as a gate guard all alone was definitely different than
the last few days. But at least now I knew what to do and how to check people
in. The passes for facility employees or contractors were different colors, so
I knew which was which. There wasn’t much to it once I got used to the routine.
There was only one landline I used it to check in every hour like I was
supposed to. That counted reporting for the start and end of my shift.
Being alone for work gave me a relieving sense of peace and quiet. Since it was the later shift when most people were getting out of work instead of into work, a lot of time would go by between cars or trucks coming. Using my VUDU account I was able to watch movies on my iPhone. I’d been encouraged by the patrolmen to bring my phone and/or a book since this second shift went by pretty easily. So let’s just say I was really glad to of brought my phone charger. Otherwise my battery would’ve probably run out in just a few hours.
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