Goddamn Mongolians!!
Today was not a good day. Not an atrocious, horrible, soul-rending day, but not a good day.
My energy drinks, which I have in fact been taking daily, didn't help me much this morning. I think I understand that it's not a miracle drug. It can only meet you half-way. If you are woozy only an hour after waking up, the energy drink will only keep you from passing out. Shooting lightning from your fingertips is only possible with moderate rest. So I was still sluggish this morning.
Earlier today there was a mishap with the paperwork. Not my fault in any way, but could be construed as such. Shit rolls downhill, as it were. One of the welders unaffectionately nicknamed "Shit Stain" screwed up his welder inspection sheet. He filled everything out except for any information to identify which machine he was even using, rendering the paperwork useless. The other error was the fault of the foreman. He signed the inspection sheet at the beginning of the day, while the rest of the form was blank. In cutting corners he was essentially writing a blank check for any problems that could have arose from the inspection. Dad, being one of the local safety cops, came by and audited our paperwork. He found the foul paperwork and confiscated it. He assured me that I was not responsible for the imminent shitstorm. I'm sure he'll find a way to blame me for it. How could these dots be connected? I don't supervise the paperwork, I simply handle it. His forms just so happen to hitch a ride and stay in the same place as my own on-the-job forms, the fire permits. He could claim that it was implied that my responsibility was to double check his forms, which totally has nothing to do with my job. This little episode isn't over. I'm sure I'll hear about it tomorrow in exhaustive angry detail.
The heat was more unbearable today than it usually is. What made it worse was being ordered specifically by on-site company super-boss to clean up trash and other items the crew had littered around the area. Of those items, he focused mostly on the spent cigarette butts that dotted the dusty wasteland. I take it as an insult to overexert myself in that heat cleaning up litter that is exclusively a personal accommodation and not job related. That, and there were trash bags up on the scaffold that they could have easily used to throw away; there's not rule that says cigarette butt litter is against the rules, I mean the place is already a dumb; oh and I'm not a smoker, so I was having to clean up a problem that I could not contribute to. The cherry on top? They continued to litter the jobsite, even after seeing me clean it up. If the pay wasn't the best I've ever had, I wouldn't put up with it.
I was hoping to blow off some steam by playing some Gears of War, but there simply aren't enough hours in the evening. Which are further cut short by having to come in early tomorrow.
Oh, and the AFSC job drop was canceled this month for our region, possibly more. Recruiter says something about the Air Force trying to thin it's numbers or something. He assured me that things should be normal next month. He said he would get up with MEPS and attempt to schedule me for the Electronic Data Processing Test sometime next week or so. It's just like a regular MEPS trip, so It'll be two days tied up in travel and waiting around. Considering how tough work was today I'll be thankful for the vacation.
Damn. Still gotta shower, eat dinner, pack lunch, and squeeze in some GoW before an early light's out. WTB job with more downtime.
My energy drinks, which I have in fact been taking daily, didn't help me much this morning. I think I understand that it's not a miracle drug. It can only meet you half-way. If you are woozy only an hour after waking up, the energy drink will only keep you from passing out. Shooting lightning from your fingertips is only possible with moderate rest. So I was still sluggish this morning.
Earlier today there was a mishap with the paperwork. Not my fault in any way, but could be construed as such. Shit rolls downhill, as it were. One of the welders unaffectionately nicknamed "Shit Stain" screwed up his welder inspection sheet. He filled everything out except for any information to identify which machine he was even using, rendering the paperwork useless. The other error was the fault of the foreman. He signed the inspection sheet at the beginning of the day, while the rest of the form was blank. In cutting corners he was essentially writing a blank check for any problems that could have arose from the inspection. Dad, being one of the local safety cops, came by and audited our paperwork. He found the foul paperwork and confiscated it. He assured me that I was not responsible for the imminent shitstorm. I'm sure he'll find a way to blame me for it. How could these dots be connected? I don't supervise the paperwork, I simply handle it. His forms just so happen to hitch a ride and stay in the same place as my own on-the-job forms, the fire permits. He could claim that it was implied that my responsibility was to double check his forms, which totally has nothing to do with my job. This little episode isn't over. I'm sure I'll hear about it tomorrow in exhaustive angry detail.
The heat was more unbearable today than it usually is. What made it worse was being ordered specifically by on-site company super-boss to clean up trash and other items the crew had littered around the area. Of those items, he focused mostly on the spent cigarette butts that dotted the dusty wasteland. I take it as an insult to overexert myself in that heat cleaning up litter that is exclusively a personal accommodation and not job related. That, and there were trash bags up on the scaffold that they could have easily used to throw away; there's not rule that says cigarette butt litter is against the rules, I mean the place is already a dumb; oh and I'm not a smoker, so I was having to clean up a problem that I could not contribute to. The cherry on top? They continued to litter the jobsite, even after seeing me clean it up. If the pay wasn't the best I've ever had, I wouldn't put up with it.
I was hoping to blow off some steam by playing some Gears of War, but there simply aren't enough hours in the evening. Which are further cut short by having to come in early tomorrow.
Oh, and the AFSC job drop was canceled this month for our region, possibly more. Recruiter says something about the Air Force trying to thin it's numbers or something. He assured me that things should be normal next month. He said he would get up with MEPS and attempt to schedule me for the Electronic Data Processing Test sometime next week or so. It's just like a regular MEPS trip, so It'll be two days tied up in travel and waiting around. Considering how tough work was today I'll be thankful for the vacation.
Damn. Still gotta shower, eat dinner, pack lunch, and squeeze in some GoW before an early light's out. WTB job with more downtime.