the hoarder.

i've always been curious about how people live. i like hearing stories and learning about cultural differences. that being said, i grew up in a fairly sheltered environment, so as i step out into the real world my eyes are being opened. that and i'm learning to be grateful for my life. for instance. i will never think i'm a dirty person from now on. i may be messy at times, but never a slob.

on my first day as a cable girl i ventured out to see how people really live. granted, i was there to hook up their primo entertainment package via the boob tube, but i can't help scouring the scene and put together pieces of people's story. our first visit was a blank apartment. dirty. but not overly so. it was scarce as i would expect from low-income apartment. the next place wasn't memorable, but the third stop of the day was dingy, at best. imagine a studio apartment. the kitchen is a bank of cabinets across the entrance. the room is dark and covered in wood paneling. that's the palette for the pile of trash filling the space. it reminding me of a dorm room. the kitchen's functionality was expanded with a card table and the tv "entertainment center" was a headboard from an old oak bedroom set. there were empty beer cans, old cigarette butts and stains from god knows what in every empty floor space. under the tv (our workspace) was a litter box filled to the brim with cat waste. two cats were wandering around hissing at each other in disgust. on the floor, occupying the majority of the apartment was the bed. calling it a bed sounds almost too fancy. what it really was was a mattress. it was covered in pillows and misc items as evidence the the girl lives on that "bed." and my favorite. no sheets on this mattress. the place smelled like cats, cigarettes and filth. ick.

our final stop of the day took it up a notch. we drove up to a fairly large house most likely constructed in the 60s or 70s. the yard looked well kept and overall it seemed like it was going to be an average house - normal, i guess. as soon as the lady opened the door and we walked through past the threshold it was obvious there was nothing normal about it. she is a hoarder. i would say she is in mid stage of compiling her "collection." as we moved through the house seeing where she wanted a new tv hooked up and a fax line added, i had to stop myself from letting my jaw hit the floor. every conceivable flat surface was covered with about a foot of stuff. the kitchen, which was freshly remodeled with new cabinets, tile floor, stainless steel appliances (including a fancy hood for the cooktop), granite counter tops and a brand new 36" plasma screen tv, was buried. buried in crap. the office had a desk and boxes piled to the ceiling. things were falling in on themselves while we spent time giving the space a fax line that would no doubt allow for more paperwork to pile up. around each corner was something new. old cans of food, unopened. books piled on more books. new pillows still in their plastic wrapping from the store. craft books and sewing supplies thrown around with disregard to their use. going up the stairs was a balancing act as there was very little stair space left open for feet. at one point i saw a stuffed pound puppy from my childhood. i was baffled. how does a person get to this point? how far will it go? is it a compulsive buying problem? on one entertainment center sat two unplugged lamps. each were wrapped in plastic with a layer of dust from time passing. sale tags still attached. there was so much unopened stuff everywhere. some of it high dollar stuff. the tv's: huge monstrosities. the main one was bigger than my fridge. i've looked online and the biggest one i can find for sale is around 5' in size. i couldn't stop thinking how much the thing must have cost the family. for our final task we hooked up an extra cable box in the son's room. his space wasn't much better then the rest of the house. i took my time looking around (not poking, just looking). he graduated from college in 2005 with an environmental science degree. worked out a lot at 24 hour fitness due to his immense collection of gym specific vitamins. iphone. ipod. computer. huge tv. covered in a layer of crap. i compiled a picture of what this guy must be like. then he came home. he was like the house. normal looking. like your all american frat guy.

the large quantity of stuff baffled me, but what really drove me crazy was the pet of the house. the customer was far from pleasant to us, but she treated her dog with deep hatred. the dog was a young pointer. when we arrived the dog was sooooo happy to see new people and was darting back and forth around the house. the lady of the house put the dog outside and took us around from room to room to see each cable jack. within 5 minutes the dog worked the sliding glass door open. genius. he ran around excited as ever and the woman started screaming, or rather barking orders, at the dog. as we worked around the house the dog kept us company. he was sweet, hyper, but sweet. however, whenever the mood struck her, the lady would pull out a remote linked to a collar on the dogs neck and hit a button. each time he was tazed he would squeal in pain and run away. my heart would break. dirty messes are one thing, but bringing pain to a dog, or worse if a child is being abused, my emotions dive.

so this is a snapshot of what my first day of work with the cable company. after this day, i questioned if i was going to be able to handle the job.

the second day was not quite as bad.

thankfully.

the real world.

what a ride the last few weeks have been.

two weeks ago I began working for a cable installation company. I figure it's the best job i could take to get into the electrician's union. that it, get experience in a trade. well, and the pay is exactly what I was making at the cafe minus all the responsibility. with benefits. no brainer.

upon starting the job i was thrown into the world of people that are very different from myself. whether it be the people i work with or the customers i deal with daily. before I was thrust into the world of cable customers our bosses took the newbies out for lunch and then shopping for some new workwear. this was amazing because i walked away with a new pair of carhartts and an expensive pair of work boots - no cost to me. then they hooked us up with all the gear we could possibly need to do the job, including a van (although i didn't get that till this week. oh, and it's a super-sexy minivan.)

In both the first and second week i rode along with other techs getting a glimpse of the job. first, I rode with one of the two other women. she seemed indifferent to me tagging along, so I kept my mouth shut and observed. now, me keeping my mouth shut, is almost an impossible feat. by the time i ventured to a friend's house on thurs for a game of poker i was ready to burst. i didn't shut up the whole night and lost my $5. i have taken the approach that since i am in unfamiliar territory I would rather feel people out before i start showing who i am and sticking my foot in my mouth. I'm glad too because the first tech made a very showing comment towards the end of the week.

"happy valley (a new area of mcmansions on the outskirts of portland) is full of snobs. but not like those bike-riding yuppie snobs in sellwood. or the bike-riding snobs from the alberta area who only get limited basic cable."

i ride my bike to work. i live three blocks from alberta. i have limited basic cable. you know what she thinks of my types. she also brought up immigration issues. let's just say i don't agree with her. i didn't say much back thinking that the only direction a conversation was going to go was to a fight. I'm glad i've kept my mouth shut. who knows what other things would have come up....

i also took this philosophy towards food choices while we were on the road. I'm not going to bring up that I try to avoid any national chains and that i try to stay away from wheat (not meat). that would leave absolutely nothing to eat in the burbs. I would have packed my lunch but time was limited in that first week. in four days i ate at olive garden, burgerville (a local chain of my picking, but still fast food), subway and taco bell. after a run for the border i ran to the bathroom. my gut was finished. on friday i brought a salad. i've packed everyday since then.

on the last day of the the first week i rode with someone different. upon hopping in the van i was figuratively transported back to kentucky. "so what radio station do you listen to?" silence. "i listen to country and christian rock, so if you don't like just say so." we listened to country the rest of the day. at lunch we met up with one of his buddies. within the first five minutes of sitting down the guy was making sexually lude wisecracks. now I'm not easily offended (for those from UC: after being in studio with foo i don't think anything is a shock to me), but how does this guy know that. he's never met me. he launched right into it. if i were someone else that conversation could have been a serious bad moment for him. i was shocked at how bold he was. after lunch they proceeded to sing country songs about being a real man over their walkie-talkies and race their vans down the road. from that point on every tech i rode with made me long for the day when i will be on my own. alone, listening to npr or in complete silence, eating my salad at a park.

my compadres are one side of the job, but nothing compares to the customers and their homes. there are all types out there. i'll write more on that soon. i promise.