Snow Shoveling Job

I never had a proper job. After my graduation, I took 2 years off to focus on my Instagram account, Bookloafer. My page grew fast, bringing in 100k followers. It was rewarding. I felt validated, not for gaining followers but to see my reviews were resonating with people and they were finding value in my work.

When I decided to come to Canada as an international student, I knew I needed to do a job in order to pay my rent and tuition fee. My boy, I wouldn’t have expected it would be this hard to find a part-time job.

For months, I would drop my resume at every store, restaurant, and fast-food chain. I used to visit staffing offices and give my application. I wouldn’t hear from anyone. Sometimes, you know for sure they would not hire you, but still you would apply for a job. Just for satisfaction.

In midwinter, I got a call from Jeremy, a manager at a snow shoveling company. A month ago, I went to his office and signed up for a snow shoveling job to test my luck. He asked me to show up at 12:00 AM at the office the same day he called. And there was a snowstorm outside.

I clothed myself in 2 layers. Prepared myself mentally and left home. Snow was 30-40 centimeters thick. I could barely walk, let alone do a job. I took a bus and reached the office.

I was met by another snow shoveler. He was from Afghanistan, in desperate need of work. A little later, supervisors showed up and selected the snowshovelers for the day. I was selected by the guy called Chris. He was old and active. He told me to pull out the snowblower machine and keep it in the truck. Because I was standing there and waiting for orders. I didn’t know I had to do this task without him telling me.

I introduced myself to other workers who were sitting in the truck. Chris clocked in the time, and we were good to go. We need to shovel at 4 companies, multiple walkways. 4 times. I was excited until I smelled marijuana in the truck. It was one of the workers, lazy and lacking civic sense.

At first site, when the truck stopped, I jumped out and pulled out my snow shovel. I was instructed to remove all the snow on the stairs and walkway. I was doing it fast, grasping for air. Not long after, I hit the limit. And it was just beginning. More places, more visits and revisits. I signed up for something that was way above my capacity. 7 more hours to go.

Chris’s friend, another worker who saw me exhausting myself, gave me advice: “You will be coming here again; do the same thing. Don’t waste your energy. Know the technique.” And he proceeded to show the energy-efficient way to remove snow. It worked. But still the work was so physically demanding.

On top of it, I forgot to bring water and food, which others did without a failure. The general assumption is that, when it is cold, we don’t feel thirsty. But if you are working in the cold, you feel thirsty as if you are in a desert. You cannot eat snow. Or you can ask others to give you theirs. The costly mistake.

There were two temperature differences that made me feel dizzy. Outside, it was -20°C or something. When you get inside the truck, it feels suffocating. You would be sweaty, and your muscles would be sore. You want to get out and be in the snow even though it is freezing cold outside.

The work we were doing helped the night shift workers. They walk in clear walkways where we just removed snow from. Easing their difficulties a bit. But snowfall was harsh. Within a few minutes, there would be a snow blanket on the surface we cleared. There was no sense of satisfaction.

I was so exhausted. I felt dizzy. My body was dying for sleep. I felt hungry. I felt like going home. But work wasn’t done. To be honest, just 60% was done. In the dark night, snow-covered landscape, I could hear my heartbeat. I thought I made a mistake signing up for this job.

Removing snow with a shovel is more or less like deadlifting. At least, in deadlift, there is a fixed weight. Snow differs with every shovel. And it is constant work. You cannot take a break between a shovel and a shovel. Work has to be done quickly, and then move to the next site.

I was so thirsty. I asked a guy for water. Instead, he gave me an orange. It tasted like heavenly fruit. For the first time, I loved an orange. It was so delicious. It brought my taste buds back to life. It was perfect. I devoured it all at once, in a minute.

By 7 AM, I was done. No energy left in my body. My dizziness reached its peak. I couldn’t stand straight. My eyes were closing. I had to stop working; otherwise, I would risk collapsing on the floor. I told Chris I wanted to go home. He said, Okay. Then I left.

I never thought those 7 hours would be that tormenting. Perhaps I did not do any physical work before that; I had such difficulty with snow shoveling. But it will remain as a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Did I enjoy it? Maybe. Will I do it again? Absolutely not.