A Typical Day - Part 1 (#20)

In one of my earliest blogs I described the camp. I thought I would share about a typical day in the camp as it is very different from my life before entering the camp.

I wake up around 6 am every day (weekends included). I know it is 6 am because about 10 different watch alarms beep in the various cubicles that surround me. I get out of bed and get ready for work. Unlike work on the outside, I don't take a shower before my job. I do, however, put on pants and boots as required by the staff. I also make my bed before I go to work, which I'm sure will become a habit I can't stop when I'm released. I know my wife will appreciate that. I then proceed to my job. At the moment, my job is checking out recreation equipment to other inmates. I work from 6:30 to 9 am. Usually I am relieved by the guy who works after me by 8 am. It's a good job mainly because I write a letter during that time. Most jobs would not avail me the opportunity to write or read while working. So, this job is good for that. It would be a lot like emailing at a regular job, but I only get paid $.12 and hour and I only work for 1 1/2 hours a day.

After work I exercise. Sometimes this is walking the track and sometimes I'm doing an exercise class. I usually walk after the class no matter what. This walking time is also my prayer time. I enjoy this time to think and pray about my family and friends. This helps me stay focused on God in spite of the monotony of prison life. At about 9:45 am I will shower and get ready for lunch. We get counted at 10:30. This is a standing count. For some odd reason they make all inmates stand while they count us. Believe me when I say this requirement does nothing to improve the guards' ability to count. The first day I arrived I was with 2 other guys in a sound proof cell waiting to get placed in the camp. It was 4 pm, the other standing count during the day, and the guards were yelling at us to stand. Of course, being our first day and being in a sound proof cell, we had no idea what they wanted. I twas comical watching them get more and more irritated because we did not stand. As a general rule you don't want to make a guard ask you twice to do something. For some reason, these guards could not determine the obvious and after a few minutes I figured out they wanted us to stand up. That was my first, but not last, standing count incident.

After the 10:30 am count we are released for lunch. The strange thing about eating is that you are encouraged to eat quickly. In fact, you are given 15 minutes to eat. Normally this does not pose a problem because the food is not great and you don't get much. It does train one to eat fast (my wife will not appreciate my quick eating habit when I'm released). You learn certain table manners that the outside world doesn't practice. You must ask the other 3 guys before you grab the salt or pepper. So, rather than say, "please pass the salt," you would say, "may I have the salt, please?" Then, when finished, before leaving the table, you are supposed to knock on the table twice. I've dropped this practice by simply saying, "have a good evening or day." I don't know if anyone cares, but I like talking to them, rather than using knocks. It seems more personable. I usually eat with people I know anyway.

After lunch I have some free time. I usually go spend this time reading or writing. If I'm reading, then I'm reading my marketing textbook or some fictional novel. If I'm writing, it's either homework or letters. I will sometimes draw pictures or cut out magazine pictures for my kids at this time. I'll give the typical day for the afternoon and evening in a later blog.

Jeff