soundepot

I am sorry. I didn't do a "soundwalk"; I did more of a "soundwork."

I work at The Home Depot, and it's infested with sound. Swarms of customers infiltrate and percolate, each transmitting their own distinct noises. Some attack with their words.

"Where's the bathroom?" "It scanned twice!" "Tax Exempt!" "It said it was 2.98!" "Can you help me with a key?" These phrases either bite or buzz in my ear.

As usual, I worked at self-checkout for the majority of Sunday. It's where the bulk of clamor nests.

The "ring," "beep," and "boop boop" make up the artificial sound, and they sound constantly. They're quite obviously the mark of checkout. However, natural sounds are just as prominent.

I drop an empty orange bucket onto a tower, of equally orange and empty buckets. It doesn't land perfectly in the top bucket and the bottom hits the rim, creating a "thud," a bouncy sound.

I go to scan a 2x4. A short man holds it, letting it go as I ask to measure it. It slips from my hands, the slim wood collides with the slate floor. A bang sounds.

I sweep; the broom whisps. I sweep the waste into the dust pan; I hear faint clicking and periodic knocking when I accidently crash the broom head with the pan. Then, I dump what I recovered into the waste basket. It sounds like a shower of pebbles hitting the bottom of the plastic bin. I wrap up throwing into the pile of garbage that sleeps in the orage cart next to me.

My shoes yawn when I walk. When the rubber bends, it slowly comes back in place after I plant each foot down . The cart in front of me charges forth, rattling incessantly.

As I throw empty cardboard boxes into the baler, they thud lightly. When I press the black button, the machine screeches and the compounder descend smushing the boxes flat. They crackle.

Throwing piles of heavy white tile into the compounder, a loud and high frequency of shattering hurts. Crash and crackle.