How'd it go today?

[FireFighterZero]

Mutual Aid for a rural structure fire west of here.


Almost two years ago to the day since the last shop this guy had burned down.

Was cold.

 

[flushcut]

Greek lightning?

 

[BeerGeek]

So, interesting day today. Officially gave 2 weeks notice/2 finger farewell salute to my corporate job. Those in the know were still a little shocked that I actually did it, and the rest of those invited out for drinks in a few days were riveted. My d-head immediate boss suddenly found a heart in the last few days, and suddenly claims to be on all our sides after abusing/throwing under the bus many of the team (me in particular). Will be riding it out until 12/31, celebrate New Year's, then kick the tree biz into full gear on Jan. 2. I'll still be maintaining my InfoSec certification as a backup, but am looking forward to full time arboriculture for the forseeable future!

 

[Tree09]

Congrats man, that's very exciting!!! I've always been a fan of the two day notice.... I'm gonna drag today good luck man! Make sure to play take this job and shove it at the bar for them!

Lol i think i posted this before...

 

[pantheraba]

Those boys DO know how to cuss artfully!

Are there some of them on every job site? Hilarious stuff.

 

[Tree09]

I often work with guys that are even wittier than that... an apprentice recently had me laughing so hard i was crying. I always thought i was witty and funny but he had me dead to rights, so i literally gave in.

He had just gotten done with working on the road, making journeyman scale, tons of ot, and per diem, so he was completely monied up for winter. He took the call for the job I'm on, but wasn't really keen on working too long because he didn't want to miss the next run of outages. The job hit a scheduling conflict, so he was going to get laid off, so he was gonna start messing with the foreman about how he could finally afford Christmas for his non existent kids, that also needed medical care that he could finally afford now that he had a job, and it got worse from there. 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 absolutely ruthless. This is the same guy who had another foreman from a different job convinced that he was a gay for pay male stripper "I mean, shaking your junk in another guy's face is kinda gay, but $20 is $20!" I almost choked on my lunch laughing when he dropped that one

 

[pantheraba]

You gotta look forward to working with him.

 

[cory]

That was pretty good! I'm guessing if you work on those sites a lot, those characters are spot on

Somebody should do one about tree guys.

 

[flushcut]

Jeez gawd no! Tree guys are like a secrete society we don't talk about tree work to outsiders.

 

[Jonny]

Work. 11pm Sunday night til 7am Monday. 3pm Monday til 7am Tuesday. 3pm Tuesday til 5am today, 3pm today til 7am tomorrow, 3pm tomorrow til 5am Friday. 3pm to 11pm Friday, then I’m on vacation for 9 days.
I’m beat, caffeine intake is around 2 grams per day now and might increase.
I’ve taken to showering on the clock and wearing clean nomex home so I can get an extra 20 minutes of sleep and only dress once.

 

[pantheraba]

Careful driving....EASY to drift off!

 

[lxskllr]

Jeez Jonny, I couldn't hack that schedule. I'd have to really love the work to do something like that, and maybe not even then. I get too tired at night. I'm good from 0500-1900. After that, I'm ready for bed, whether bed's nearby or not.

 

[Jonny]

Careful driving....EASY to drift off!

I crack a window, chain smoke, and don’t turn up the heat. You’re right, it’s risky and once I got a lift home from a coworker when I was kinda dead on my feet. If I suspect there’s a chance of being a danger, I’m not driving.

We lost a really good friend in 2011 when he wrecked after a long shift. Can’t prove he fell asleep at the wheel, but it’s the only thing that makes sense, he was always a great driver, with zero alcohol or drug use. That shit was heartbreaking, he had just got married and had a 6month old daughter.

 

[lxskllr]

Yea, driving tired's no joke. Never had any bent metal, but I've had some tense times on the road catching myself with my eyes closed at 70mph. Don't find myself in those situations much anymore, but I try to find a place to stop and sleep in the truck for a bit.

 

[Burnham]

I've had it happen, too...more times than I'd like to admit. It's an easy way to get kilt. Worse yet is, it's an easy way to kill the occupants of another car, or pedestrians.

 

[flushcut]

Chewing on something helps carrots, gum, gummy bears whatever.

 

[pantheraba]

crushed ice...my Dad taught me that....seems to work.

 

[Burnham]

Open the windows wide, turn the stereo up high, sing along loudly. Best bet really, is to pull over in a safe place and sleep for an hour, imo.

 

[Tree09]

How long of a commute man? I feel your pain on that schedule, i used to pull 5 16s straight all the time when i was in my early 20s.

 

[Jonny]

Usually just 20 minutes if I get out on time, I’m still amazed at the differences in traffic congestion between leaving at 7am and leaving at 7:10. It’s a half hour drive if I leave at 7:20.
Got a good stash of energy drinks here though.

 

[Mick!]

Off to the coast house today, check on the builder‘s progress and trim a few little evergreen oaks whilst we’re there.

2.15 hrs each way with the chipper behind us.

 

[Mick!]

Open the windows wide, turn the stereo up high, sing along loudly. Best bet really, is to pull over in a safe place and sleep for an hour, imo.

Even 15/20 minutes of shut eye, not sleep, just laying back with your eyes closed, can give you a new lease of life.

 

[Bermy]

I've done that more than once on the way home, pull over at the roadhouse, 20 mins doze...good to go.
I was 15 mins from home once and had to pull over for a snooze, I would have run off the road if I had pressed on

 

[flushcut]

Sometimes a power nap works for me but not usually. If I am not use a a time schedule my body really hates me and shuts down harder.

 

[Dave Shepard]

Energy drinks, while tasty, don't do anything for me.