changes

thattreeguy

TreeHouser
Joined
Sep 17, 2008
Messages
1,939
Location
Humboldt County CA
yeah things change
i dont have it in me to chase the work like i did
and im waiting to repair a hernia in my gut, that will require 6 weeks of time off from work
i have a great climber, but everyone else is just riding my coat tails
i dont feel like people appreciate how much i put into this business from the clean up crew to the clients

last year i started to let my climber cut most all the jobs, and nobody really noticed the change in pruning, so i guess ive been wasting the gift of fine pruning on people who dont know the difference between production and full on super sweet handsaw work
i think after i pay off last years taxes, i may just pull the plug
the joy of climbing big scary ass trees has been replaced by constant worry over taxes ins and non stop bill cycles
i think im gonna sell my rigs and keep some toys and 1 set of climbing and rigging gear.

honestly about 2 months ago i nearly killed a guy who ducked the tape and walked thru the work area...texting, i hurt my back and neck holding the block of wood, long enough for him to clear the area before i dropped it, he came thru again, and i had a anxiety attack like no other before....i didnt like the response inside myself

this tree was one of the worst to be in, over 150 ft, top died at 130, so 4 limbs grew into dominant tops, pushing up to 150 maybe 160, and to be tied into 1 top while flying out all the others, blocking down the wood, everything, missing potted plants we couldnt move, it was all just horse shit , and since that job ive had no satisfaction in doing this anymore

i mean seriously i could sell plants at home depot all day and probabally get more respect and appreciation than to work my ass off, for a lilttle bit after all is been paid

this work makes your body old, and i accept that

but really i just dont have much care left in me, and i think maybe after 23? yrs is that right i started climbing full time in the summmer of 89....im gonna do something different

not sure yet what that will be, but i know god will provide

willy touched on it in adrians contract climber post...this state sucks to own a business in, i gross over 220k a year and take home 40 to 42k after all the bs
well shit i can do almost that standing on terra firma, and only do an 8 hour shift, and then spend time with my family

when im well rested and my body doesnt hurt im a pretty good dad, but when im tired and i hurt im an asshole

these out of town clients think they can be rude, and ya know, im really close to just throwing some blows, i will not be yellled at for cutting down stump regrowths..(the last of the redwoods) or called names by out of town dope growers who think they are the shit

i have no idea what lies ahead for mee, im simply taking it 1 day at a time

but if someone wants to walk into a very steady market, they can here
but its like running on a hamsters wheel, sure it keeps going round, but how long do you want to keep running?

as god reveals his plan for me, i'll share it, but as of the moment im blowing out myu biggest jobs,, settling my debts and going from there,

there will be an older bandit 250 , a small 1 ton dump, 3 sets of climbing gear, and maybe even a nice whisper chipper up for sale soon, i think my boom is gonna go to the guys that got me in this industry, if im gonna lose a few bucks on it, im gonna let it go to someone who will love it like i do,

with love and respect to my tree house family
 
Sorry to hear about the hernia.

What about a big downsizing? Keep the one ton and pic up a little chipper. Only take on the little prune jobs and odd easy removal. Sell all the other work you don't want.

A few guys in my area have done that in the past few years and say there are due better now then before. Less overhead/maintenance no employee made it easier to take home a few bucks. They considered selling, but was too hard to get what they wanted.

Regardless I'm sure things will work out. As well , I agree, this is a very hard biz to get respect in.
 
You probably don't remember me but I've seen your earlier problems, the electric shock and others.

Best advice I can give you is get out of it, for now anyway. At your age you can always get back into tree work if you want to later, but the way you're going doesn't look good.

If you stay at something you don't like anymore you will regret it. Take a break.
 
There is that voice inside, and i think it may often start speaking to us quite awhile before we want to really listen to it....for various reasons. Some folks will never listen to it. Maybe that delay is a good thing or maybe it isn't....society has turned us into rather cautious beings, our sense of responsibilities, etc. Reading what has been said, it seems that a point has been reached where you can be quite honest with yourself. There is new energy and focus waiting out there to be attached to with something different, if you want. It seems that you have been really dutiful to what you have been doing, seen it through until the connection has become worn out thinner. If you think that you've done it, and what it still holds isn't so important anymore, it seems like a good time to move on. That is much different from someone that initially had an interest, then decided to give up before attaining a higher level of achievement because they couldn't hold on to the initial desire. Much respect to you, Dave.
 
I once had a really cool job. At least I thought it was cool. Pretty high stress, but good pay and some prestige in my trade. Could open a lot of doors in my future. There came a point of holding on to what I was doing meant that if I went long enough, it would look good on my resume. Eventually I was snapping at people, dark circles under my eyes, lost weight. Went for my annual physical. My Dr. took one look at me and told me to stop whatever I was doing because my lack of health from stress would eventually kill me. I quit what I was doing, sadly. But it was the best thing I could do for myself at the time. Either I was going to hurt myself or someone else. In this business that we are in Dave, when you heart is just not in it, and you stress level is too high, it will and can kill you.
If you feel you need a break and find something else you want to do, and you are doing it for your sanity and balance in your family and self, it is probably the right thing. I agree with keeping some minimum kit so you can do that occasional sweet job. That other part about this business we are in is that it seems to run in our blood.
I only wish the best for you Dave, that includes your family. If you feel what you are going to do is best, you have my support and blessing :)
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
thanks guys,
its better than smashing someone and having to live with it, or me getting myself smashed,
ive only been flying the boom for the last few months, ive climbed a few, only when the climber doesnt want to take out log lengths, and ive got a knack for laying them flat, so i'll do it,

it'll be nice not to always be in debt, just to do something you love,

i figure with all my riggging, and saws, plus the mini and stump grinder, i'll be a great hired gun to call, to run the job from the ground, while some youngster climbs

or the idea of selling the landscape plants to someone and letting them deal with all the problems may be better, to simply be the guy with the advice, who gets paid regardless
 
A wise man once told me "you have to decide if you want to make a fast nickel or a slow dime".

(Slow dime's are a lot easier on the body and stress level.) :)
 
Never a dull post with you, Dave. Best of luck with the changes. Things will evolve and work out, you are a survivor.
 
I was a plastic mold builder for two years, after I hired on, I was then told nobody retired from that industry! "You quit and do something else, you have a heart attack and die or you blow your brains out from the stress!" he wasn't joking!
I moved on to other machining fields, at first I thrived on the stress, then the headaches, not sleeping and a 30 pack of beer after a 12hr day to go back to another 12hr day! My marriage was failing and I got to where I couldn't concentrate, not good when you are working on something with over 1000 hours in it!
I quit and never regretted that! I loved the work, learned a lot, but it got more overbearing than life itself!
You are the only one that knows when you are there, and you are the one that must live with the final decision, but in this case, I think you've thought it through and know what you should do! Good luck!
 
Figure three years to reinvent yourself, MB, haven't you got three years? There isn't much age discrimination in the US compared to a lot of other places. I even think there are laws against it.
 
Certain insecurities seem to often come as we get older, part of it is the way society seems to be set up these days, with a lesser respect and support for the elderly. Some of that also seems to trickle over into how we respect ourselves. All I know is that a lot of middle aged to elderly people lost everything they had in the big tsunami here, family, home, work....the dog.....every bit of cushion they had. It's a remarkable thing how some humans have the ability to find a way to fight and make it back with a strong spirit. Others just become shells of their former selves, and crumble in the wind.
 
I'm scared to death of growing old. I have no family, no significant other and very few friends. I see things getting worse for me, not better.

But that's Life. People have it way worse than me.
 
Getting old seems to require a fight of sorts. There is the fear factor. A guy I worked with a couple days ago, Gobara san, also takes care of his blind and completely bed ridden wife. He can only work when the day care service will take her for some hours, I think twice a week. He has been taking care of her for many years, the diapers and the feeding tube, all by himself. He showed me the room where his wife lays. It's bright and cheery. He is 60 and has a very good spirit, and a number of girlfriends. I was drinking some coffee with him in the room next to hers, samurai swords in a rack and his paintings of Buddhist devils and other themes here and there, and he was showing me his new big tv, how he can record all kinds of stuff, and some files of uncensored porn which is somewhat hard to get locally. He explained how he shows the porno to his girlfriends and it gets them excited. Then he puts on some other program and turns up the volume so his wife can't hear, and plays around with his ladies. His cell phone gets messages from the women when we are working. The guy seems to have well accepted life's challenges. I like how his truck has a cool illumination system as well, flip on a bank of switches and little colored light start blinking on and off all over the place. It suits his personality. He has a lot on his plate, but having known him for a number of years now, seems to stay upbeat. There is some inspiration if we look around.
 
When I was faced with the same dilemma at age 39 (my body isn't as strong as Butch's), I had to make some hard decisions. My body was failing and I could no longer produce enough income to support myself. All my years climbing had left me broke and broken. There is no future in climbing and I have never seen anybody get rich doing it. I had to look further ahead than my income next week or next month. I knew I could keep doing exactly what I was doing and getting the exact same results or I could make changes and strive for something different.

I was fortunate that I had some equity in my house because I had nothing else. I was able to refi and pull out a little over $40K but $15K immediately went to some old unpaid hospital bills (you can't escape them). I bought my old blue bucket truck and began the long process of reinventing myself. I remember in particular one guy called me a month after I bought the truck and wanted me to climb a 'simple removal' and said it wasn't worth bringing the bucket truck. It was over the house and next to the driveway, and I was there in my pickup with climbing gear while the bucket truck was at home. I was so pissed and swore I'd never show up on another tree job without my bucket truck ever again.

Sorry for getting side tracked but the point is that I had to look at where I wanted to be in three years and then do whatever it took to get myself in that position. I wasn't worried about being broke next month. I've been broke before and I may be broke again, it ain't shit and I can get through it. I had absolutely nothing to lose. They say that luck happens when opportunity meets preparation. Decide where you want to be in three years, do whatever it takes to prepare yourself for that and be ready to move when the opportunity arises. I can guarantee that if you keep doing exactly what you've done for the last 10 years that you will get exactly what you've gotten for the last ten years. Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is called insanity (I learned that in AA).
 
Yes, very good inspirational post, Jay.:)

Good call, Brian.

Stay positive, MB
 
Keep doing what you do for now Butch, but start fishing now, while you can still do what you can do! You never know what you might catch with a little fishing!
 
Stephen: Best advice I've read in a while! Well done.

Dave: Best of luck at whatever! Lots to do in this world. I'll pray that God helps you find your new calling even if (selfishly) I want it to remain tree-work. It's good to have you around. I'd kill to go back down there with my hippy wife and little girl, and take whatever treework came to me--whether from you or someone else as well. I'm sick of corporate political nonsense.
 
Jed, from where do you get corporate political nonsense?
 
Certain insecurities seem to often come as we get older ...
I'm scared to death of growing old ...
Getting old seems to require a fight of sorts ...

I thought about posting this vid in the Random Video thread, but ... being "older than dirt", myself, and still able to get around in a tree, I thought it might be a good (light-hearted) addition to this thread. :)

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xv1tMioGgXI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

You CAN do old, if you're careful! :D
 
I get where your at Dave, last year I was disgusted at how much I worked to scrape a little off the top. I decided this year to go big or give it up so we have a push on. See how the end of the year looks. I have a great crew at the moment and am trying to push prices up as much as possible. What ever you do I wish you luck. One thing to consider, we had a guy move here from Cali last year and after taking off a year after selling his 3 crew company, he brought up a bucket, chipper and stumper. If he can't get his bucket to the tree or it is not an easy climb, he passes. Might be worth considering, I made better money when I was smaller
 
I get where your at Dave, last year I was disgusted at how much I worked to scrape a little off the top. I decided this year to go big or give it up so we have a push on. See how the end of the year looks. I have a great crew at the moment and am trying to push prices up as much as possible. What ever you do I wish you luck. One thing to consider, we had a guy move here from Cali last year and after taking off a year after selling his 3 crew company, he brought up a bucket, chipper and stumper. If he can't get his bucket to the tree or it is not an easy climb, he passes. Might be worth considering, I made better money when I was smaller
These two statements don't jive. Recently I've noticed that I'm grossing more than ever but at the end of the month I'm not gaining any ground. Seems like at least 3 days per week I have a major expense that eats up the day's profits. So my current focus is on cutting expenses and minimizing expenditures. I'm not in business to simply churn dollars.
 
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