Currently on night three of eight consecutive overnight shifts covering for my co-worker on vacation with 10 hours of total sleep since Friday.

Rock n' roll.

Except minus the rock part.... and the drugs, girls and fun.... And my freedom. I work the food side of a 24/7 travel center, so just lots of hungry tweekers and angry foreign truckers.

To make things more grand, management will only schedule two people on 3rd shift, meaning I have to jump around both sides of the store like Rent-a-Flash whenever my coworker goes on lunch or decides to take his millionth shit of the night.

Had an incident a couple weeks ago where I left a note for my manager about a 2nd shift coworker leaving me a mess after blaming it on "being distracted". Said coworker proceeded to read said letter (clearly not marked with her name on it or intended for her eyes) and walk on out on her shift. Not only did she get her job back, but the store GM basically blamed me (in coded language managerial talk) for her leaving.

... Where's Pookie when you need 'em to burn this motherfucker down!?!?

This heat is killing me. Anything above 85 degrees might as well be 1000. I don't do much outside stuff, but I'm so grateful I'm not a mail carrier delivering in those sweat boxes.

Periodically management will bring in bottled water. They haven't done so in a week or two. No big deal as I always bring my own. Especially now that the vending got rid of canned soda and only have bottles and increased it from 1.50 to 1.75. Fuck you.

Amazes me no one has the idea to bring their own water. Instead make snide comments like "still nothing?".

Hats off to Nobi. Dunno how you're playing Legos in this heat.

Usually work a half day Saturday but took this past one off to go to the local park for the 20th time. Turns out a bird locked in a vehicle and died but not before pooping everywhere. So I missed out on dealing with that. Lol.

I've got a lot of respect for people who work outdoors be it the cold or heat. I have to remember that although I miss my office with a door, my short drive, my plant and my window I am lucky a) to have a job b) not to have to worry about working in poor weather conditions. It can always be worse.

However, with the longer commute, my insurance went up, I put more km's on my car this past week then I did in a whole month at the other office and usually a tank of gas lasts me 2 weeks. Now I'm filling up weekly. Thank god I don't have a truck.

have to wear what looks like an old MP3 player with a mic on it at work, apparently work is involved in a court case involving noise regulations.

Sounds sketchy af to me

Holy fuck this guy I'm working with today. One of the dumbest people I've ever come in contact with. His apprentice is a piece of work too.

Upgrading a fire system at a high school. Job is booked for 4 days. All we're doing is ripping out the old panel and putting in a new one, but when you do that there's programming involved, sometimes troubleshooting, and you have to go around and test all the devices. Also, the panel we're removing is obsolete and has been for some time, so I don't have any way of retrieving the old software off it to save some programming time, and it's so old that there's almost a guarantee that there will be field wiring issues picked up by the new panel that the old system was too stupid to recognize. So 4 days.

Dude doesn't show up on day 1. No excuse as to why. Never provided his phone # to anyone at our company, just his email. He even confirmed via email that he'd be on site on Tuesday (day 1, was a long weekend here), but then doesn't show. I email him twice in the morning and he doesn't reply until 3:30 after I'd been home for several hours. All his email says is "Yeah, I want to get this done this week." I reply back "Ok see you tomorrow at 8:30."

Guess who doesn't show up until after 10:00. Fortunately this time he provided his phone # to me and informed me at 9:00 when I called him that he was going to be late.

He finally arrives and I have a checklist in my head of things to ask one a job like this.

1) "Do you have any inspection reports?"
A) "Yes." - he hands me an outdated report

2) "Have you collected the serial numbers from each device in the field?"
A) "No I didn't know I had to do that."

"You don't, but it would make the programming portion go faster because I can enter all the device information in on my laptop while you're installing the new panel. Once you're done I just dump the program in, we verify it, and we're done. Saves tons of time."

"Oh, I planned to just put the new one in and thought you could compare the devices to that report I gave you."

"Nope, the new system will assign new addresses to the devices once it's booted up. The addresses on this report will be useless."

"Why didn't anyone tell me that before!?"

I know for a fact that our sales guy tells every single customer this on these particular jobs, but I just play along.

"No idea. Typically they do."

"Nope nobody told me! What do we do now?"

"Well we put the new system in, then when you go around and test every device I will enter the description you give me and program the panel that way. Then we have to test every device again to make sure the descriptions are right."

"That will take too long!"

"That's why this was booked for 4 days."

I chose to just let the fact he no-showed Day 1 hang in the air a bit there...

....

Anyway yesterday he and his apprentice put the new panel in. That means he drank coffee and talked to me (re: annoyed me while I was trying to reply to old emails and enter my expenses from the past two weeks) while his apprentice did all the work.

Once you rip a fire system out you're there until the new one is up and running and can (at the very least) ring the bells and notify the fire department. If you can't accomplish that, someone is spending the night on fire watch and billing double overtime. So because we started late and his apprentice was doing everything we were here late last night to get the system to a point that we could leave the building. Also this job site is over an hour from where I live, so I was even later.

Today he was late again. Not as late as yesterday but still late.

I send him around to test all the devices and after doing two he hands it off to his apprentice and disappears. I asked him if he was planning on installing the annunciator (small screen that goes by the front door to meet code/comply with fire dept regulations) and he gives me an "uhh yeah I guess I should get that done."

"Why what were you going to go do?"

"Nothing I'll do it."

I tell his apprentice to take the old outdated report he gave me yesterday and compare with it as he was testing everything, and use it for reference. I tell him to radio me the descriptions as he tests and I'll give him the new addresses. I tell him to write down the addresses so we know what devices were tested in case anything is missed when he's done.

It's 2:20 now and guess who is out searching for devices he missed BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WRITE DOWN THE ADDRESSES OR CHECK ANYTHING OFF, AND HE MISSED 5 DEVICES.

THESE GUYS WORK FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THEY'RE NOT EVEN QUALIFIED TO CHANGE LIGHT BULBS. FUCK.

RT (and also iNCY), your stories have me questioning a potential career change I'm considering...

My buddy's dad owns and operates his own one-man HVAC/R business. My buddy has some high-falutin' white collar job and I guess apparently no intention of taking over his dad's business as his dad rapidly approaches retirement. So he pitched setting me up with his dad, to learn under Daddio, and eventually take over the business as a bridge between father and son (my buddy's long term goal is to eventually quit his job once he's amassed enough knowledge and contacts and then expand dad's ol' HVAC/R business into a broader construction firm).

So I guess, what do you think? Going into the trades, good idea or bad idea? Short term vs. long term, make any difference on good vs. bad?

And general question to anyone/everyone, any perils to working for a small family-owned business? Or are the perils negated if you're practically an adopted son/brother?

I'm supposed to start working on getting my EPA Section 608 certification so that I can hit the ground running as someone qualified to purchase ozone-depleting refrigerants.

I also at some point want to help my buddy launch a SDVOSB venture to take advantage of government procurement regulations, and we're thinking this could be the seed of that opportunity.

All of our orders goes through one central email. It should be just entitled 'Ashlynn's second email' because I pretty much pick up 95% of the orders. Today, I was in the middle of turning over 20 orders for one area, working on a quote for another, and filling out 5 MTO's, jogging a marathon, baking a pie, etc...(you know totally fucking the dog) and I noticed an order come in for an area I don't do much with and it just sat there. I turned to my co-worker after an hour and said 'hey can you grab that order for X in the inbox'. She had the audacity to tell me she was in the middle of fixing one order and was working on another and could I grab it. Are you fucking kidding me?

Sure thing I'll just drop all the balls I'm currently juggling so that so you can get your precious 2 orders done and leave at your prescribed 4:30pm meanwhile it's 7:30pm and I'm still sitting here like the dumb fuck I am.

There's a reason I'm billing 10-20 hours OT/week and coming in weekends while the rest of them all work their 8 hours and go home. Oh, and I got denied a raise that was promised to me with my move across the city to the open concept POS office, because there's not a 'job description' to fit me. Basically, I'm an Intermediate Buyer but because we don't have a sliding scale, the next level is a Senior Buyer. Now, I agree that I do not possess what constitutes a Senior Buyer (usually some letters behind your name), but since I never got a pay raise when I was made a Buyer I am already a poorly paid Intermediate Buyer. I was told if I take on more responsbility, then MAYBE they could justify the raise to Senior Buyer. What more do I need to take on? I'm already doing the bulk of the orders, training new buyers, cleaning up accounts and dealing with vendors. Sure, I'll take on more. Who needs a life?

I'm going to get my raise one way or the other. Anyone need a stapler or calculator?

Uber gonna take us back to Pittsburgh?

I'm on first proper holiday since my 2.5yo youngest daughter was born.
Holidays are the best thing about working...

And I love Maui, weather is perfect could do without the 10hr flight though.

So I've been put on admin leave (with pay... but likely just coming from my sick leave that I never use anyway) for a comment someone took out of context since last Friday. I'll likely be back after 2 weeks of time off. Gotta admit 🤯 this Luke Harper schedule of waking up @ 9 or 10 is not the worst thing in the world. Sure it stagnates ya as an artist but as someone with no ambition (but I always put I am very on dating profiles lmao) I could get used to this!

Sept 20, 2019 14:45:00 GMT @ness said:

So I've been put on admin leave (with pay... but likely just coming from my sick leave that I never use anyway) for a comment someone took out of context since last Friday. I'll likely be back after 2 weeks of time off. Gotta admit 🤯 this Luke Harper schedule of waking up @ 9 or 10 is not the worst thing in the world. Sure it stagnates ya as an artist but as someone with no ambition (but I always put I am very on dating profiles lmao) I could get used to this!

I'm back in Pittsburgh for the week, which poses its own challenges for Brocktober...

But work has me so fucking stressed and pissed, I'm in great fear for a timely start of Brocktober because getting super high is my only way to cope.

@ness, for the sake of Brocktober, help me find a new job!!!

But maaan is it effectively as helping the stress and improving my mood, slowing my mind down

KING KID, you know.

Looks like I'm off another week. This check they didn't take the pay from my sick leave and even gave me 4 extra hours? LOL, I know I'll be picking up tons of roach and rat droppings when I go back, but I needed this break.

May have to just do Brocktober myself. 🤯

@ness,are you high or drunk?
What did you say to earn the administrative leave?

Sept 30, 2019 22:42:00 GMT iNCY said:

@ness ,are you high or drunk?
What did you say to earn the administrative leave?

Let's just say it was a similar situation.

Sept 30, 2019 22:04:32 GMT @ness said:

Looks like I'm off another week. This check they didn't take the pay from my sick leave and even gave me 4 extra hours? LOL, I know I'll be picking up tons of roach and rat droppings when I go back, but I needed this break.

May have to just do Brocktober myself. 🤯

Sounds like a job for Team PENiss

Sept 30, 2019 23:25:05 GMT 🤯 said:

Sept 30, 2019 22:04:32 GMT @ness said:

Looks like I'm off another week. This check they didn't take the pay from my sick leave and even gave me 4 extra hours? LOL, I know I'll be picking up tons of roach and rat droppings when I go back, but I needed this break.

May have to just do Brocktober myself. 🤯

Sounds like a job for Team PENiss

Split?

Oct 1, 2019 0:33:24 GMT @ness said:

Sept 30, 2019 23:25:05 GMT 🤯 said:

Sounds like a job for Team PENiss

Split?

Split the dick, pass the pussy.

Sometimes I wonder how the people at my office get dressed in the morning.

I’m working out of town next week. Whenever I do that I have to book my own hotel and such. It’s very easy, it’s all done online with a company credit card, etc. But before I book I have to send a request to my supervisor who signs it, sends it to Ontario, gets approval back from our booking manager, then let’s me know I can go ahead and book my hotel. It’s kind of stupid but it isn’t complicated and takes like an hour tops to get done.

I was told on Wednesday I’d be out of town next week. I sent a travel request right away. I heard nothing back. I emailed my boss again yesterday. still nothing.

This has happened before so I basically just wait until the Friday before I leave and book. Usually it ends up being approved and my boss had just forgot to tel me. Either way I have to book my travel for the following week before people in Ontario leave for the day otherwise things might be complicated for me on Monday when I show up at my hotel.

So I waited until 11 this morning and booked. Right away I’m getting emails from Ontario. “This is unapproved, who told you to do this?” etc. I forward the emails and requests I sent to my boss and said I booked because I couldn’t wait any longer as Monday is my travel day and this needs to be approved.

Since my boss did do his job I’m in trouble for “booking too early.” I literally waited until the last minute while being ignored by everyone that is supposed to be approving this shit.

Oct 4, 2019 18:46:53 GMT RT said:

Sometimes I wonder how the people at my office get dressed in the morning.

I’m working out of town next week. Whenever I do that I have to book my own hotel and such. It’s very easy, it’s all done online with a company credit card, etc. But before I book I have to send a request to my supervisor who signs it, sends it to Ontario, gets approval back from our booking manager, then let’s me know I can go ahead and book my hotel. It’s kind of stupid but it isn’t complicated and takes like an hour tops to get done.

I was told on Wednesday I’d be out of town next week. I sent a travel request right away. I heard nothing back. I emailed my boss again yesterday. still nothing.

This has happened before so I basically just wait until the Friday before I leave and book. Usually it ends up being approved and my boss had just forgot to tel me. Either way I have to book my travel for the following week before people in Ontario leave for the day otherwise things might be complicated for me on Monday when I show up at my hotel.

So I waited until 11 this morning and booked. Right away I’m getting emails from Ontario. “This is unapproved, who told you to do this?” etc. I forward the emails and requests I sent to my boss and said I booked because I couldn’t wait any longer as Monday is my travel day and this needs to be approved.

Since my boss did do his job I’m in trouble for “booking too early.” I literally waited until the last minute while being ignored by everyone that is supposed to be approving this shit.

I love your posts chief, it's like a blue collar episode of the office.

Well, Wife did what virtually no other female in tech or Corporate America does... Negotiated. And won.

We're headed back to Pittsburgh!

Can't wait to tell my work.

Then need to figure out what's next for me.

Maybe male modeling?

Better reactivate my Fitness Accountability.

Oct 7, 2019 21:47:21 GMT 🤯 said:

Well, Wife did what virtually no other female in tech or Corporate America does... Negotiated. And won.

We're headed back to Pittsburgh!

Can't wait to tell my work.

Then need to figure out what's next for me.

Maybe male modeling?

Better reactivate my Fitness Accountability.

Well without Nobi we do need some eye candy in the thread.

Oct 7, 2019 21:47:21 GMT 🤯 said:

Well, Wife did what virtually no other female in tech or Corporate America does... Negotiated. And won.

We're headed back to Pittsburgh!

Can't wait to tell my work.

Then need to figure out what's next for me.

Maybe male modeling?

Better reactivate my Fitness Accountability.

Congrats man! or woman... in Wife case

My work has been brutal, since I returned from holidays I have been working minimum 16hr days.
This week: 5 days in NZ
Next week 3 days in China plus travel

Then I have 3 more trips to China before the end of the year along with somehow 3 trips to NZ and maybe one to Italy.... 

There are some field guys here in now supervisory positions that should probably retire. There’s one in particular who is 65 going on 80. Overall a good guy but completely non PC.

For instance he has a guy from Columbia that works for him. His name is Robelito and by all accounts he’s black. The old guy says he can’t pronounce his name and just calls him Toby. *facepalm* what’s worse is that Robelito now refers to himself as Toby.

Me: You mean Robelito

Old redneck: Just call him Toby

Me: No. I REALLY can’t

I don’t think he means it maliciously but seriously.

He went with Toby instead of Rob!?

Getting some job site revenge as we speak (or as I type).

Little backstory: in British Columbia there is a rule for residential fire alarm systems that allows for the horns inside the suites to silence for up to 10 minutes, except on the floor of alarm. Ex: if you have a 4 storey building and someone sets off the alarm on the 2nd floor, the entire building will ring for 60 seconds, then the suite horns on floors 1, 3 and 4 will silence for 10 minutes, then turn back on if the alarm remains on the system or another alarm comes in.

Verifying this is a pain in the ass, because you guessed it, we have to ring the alarms from every floor, wait for the other floors to turn off, then wait the 10 minutes for the suites to re-activate.

We’re in a 5 storey building so it’s about an hour or so of constant alarms in the common areas of the building (these signals never turn off because code).

We do the 5th floor then start the 4th floor. I am wandering around checking horns for functionality (getting two birds stoned) and I see a concrete worker on his phone in the parkade. It’s fucking loud down there because it’s a big empty concrete room with three loud as fuck horns, and he’s trying to talk to someone on his phone.

He’s yelling “YEAH THEYRE JUST TESTING HOLD ON A MINUTE,” and standing there like an idiot with his finger in his ear instead of going outside. I get his attention and start yelling that the alarms are going to be going off for an hour, but he cuts me off and just tells “SHUT THE FUCK UP.”

We finished testing about 15 minutes ago but I decided the parkade circuit needs to run a bit longer. He’s currently outside screaming at the safety guy who is having none of it because we’re fucking testing the thing that keeps the building safe.

Oct 9, 2019 21:28:09 GMT RT said:

He went with Toby instead of Rob!?

Right?!  'Berta!

I'd have done what you did too RT and I would have waved and smiled at him.  Dick.

Now that I'm in an open concept office everyone gets to hear my conversations with the field guys.  Payroll is on the other side of my computer.  They seem to be enjoying them.

Today one of my guys asked me a question I said 'you know how you're supposed to say there's no such thing as a stupid question...well that was a stupid question. Do better.'

Other things uttered by me this week (so far):

'What do you mean you lost an entire skid of valve handles?' 

'You found them and don't need them now (after searching for 2 hours to scrounge another pallet worth)...The electricians were using the valve handles as handles for their jacks? I see.'  (I didn't...that's dumb)

'You don't need these shipped?  So just how do you plan on transporting 6 - 55 gallon drums of propylene glycol from Edmonton to site? No, I don't think your Ford Ranger is going to be able to handle it.'

'Nipples: plain both ends?'

'It's 3:30pm and you need these [special order gaskets] out tonight.  You understand the truck leaves Edmonton at 5pm? Okay, I'll get out the kneepads and good lip gloss and see what I can do. I'm a little rusty though.'  

Party's over.

Back to work tomorrow.

Oct 10, 2019 15:08:24 GMT @ness said:

Party's over.

Back to work tomorrow.

Not as good as Harper's run on the bench, but not too shabby.