Month: August 2017

Not the Best Job in the World?

aluminium toolboxI was really happy to get my job, even though it’s pretty basic stuff. I mean, not EVERYONE gets an apprenticeship two days after finishing their plumbing course, so I thought I was getting a pretty good deal. Mostly.

Right?

I’m having doubts. Actually, I’ve been having doubts for a while, but I’ve kept brushing it off, because no one else is complaining, right? But then we went to a barbecue for all the local tradespeople in the area, and they were all showing up with…stuff. Stuff we didn’t have. Utes, for one thing; my boss packs all our equipment into an old Toyota Corolla and makes us carry the equipment on our laps. Theirs were actual utes, with under tray draws and service bodies and all the good stuff. So that was already weird, but then the guys started to talk about their jobs and I begin to realise that maybe…just MAYBE, we had it a bit rougher. The other day we had to deal with a deep excavation problem; a pipe had gotten blocked due to rust on the inside. First off, we had to dig the hole using shovels. So THAT took most of the day. Then, I had to dig out the pipe and replace it…upside down, with the boss holding onto my ankles. Apparently there are more appropriate tools for that sort of thing. And like, other people get paid on time with electronic banking. They don’t wait for three weeks and get the wrong amount in two-dollar coins.

And apparently in Melbourne, aluminium toolboxes are pretty standard. As in, people carry their tools inside the toolboxes, instead of having to make multiple trips back and forth from the car carrying them in our arms while the boss tells us to hurry up.

So, yeah. I’m starting to think I’m not getting the dream experience. Maybe a character-building experience, but I know which one I’d prefer, and it doesn’t involve trying to a replace a pipe while dangling upside down in a dirty hole.

-Angus

Darn Youths, Ruining My Platforms

planks and trestlesKeep your stupid comments in your pocket!

Gah, the human race makes me so mad. All I’m doing is trying to submit my expertise to an online database of experts, and nitpicking nitwits are always coming in and ruining my answers. Fifteen years I spent as a builder, and these YOUNG people think they can outdo my own knowledge. It frustrates me, their foolish comments.

It’s just the internet; shouldn’t bother me this much. The internet is full of twits who are constantly trying to make people think they know what they’re talking about. I mean, who would even think that wooden platforms are superior to aluminium work platforms? Some person said that wooden platforms were ‘retro’, and actually lasted longer than aluminium platforms if you took care of them.

“They don’t rust!” he said, like an idiot. Yes, that’s because they decay and get mould instead. Thing is, his little squad of millennial followers all chimed in like trained monkeys, saying that ‘yeah, they’d heard that before’ and ‘yeah, sometimes the old ways really are the best!’ and ‘yeah, this old guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about’.

How dare they defile this exchange of knowledge, not only with their lies and inexperience, but their sickening overconfidence. I was around when Melbourne transitioned from wooden platforms to aluminium ones. These young people were still in kindergarten when I was setting up planks and trestles, wrestling with bailey ladders.

And they think they can tell ME what the old ways were, and if they were better? Those comments need to go RIGHT back into their pockets, and stay there. If only I knew how to actually develop a strong base of followers, so I could benefit from those sweet, sweet upvotes. Apparently, giving solid advice with competent grammar just isn’t enough.

-Denzel

Renovation: Top Priority

bathroom renovatorsThe first thing I did when we got into this office is look around Melbourne for bathroom renovations. Oh, I wasn’t about to work in here with THAT in the next room, believe you me. I liked the general feel of the office, despite the fact that it was slightly threadbare, but the bathroom? Not good enough. Nowhere close to good enough.

Some people might not have standards quite at my level, but I’m used to dealing with a toilet that DOESN’T have 90% rust coating the inside. I want a sink that actually looks clean rather than bits of it flaking off. And wallpaper is nice. Not much to ask, is it? Exposed brick can be rustic, but if you walked into this bathroom you’d know exactly what I mean. This was exposed brick because no one could be bothered to do anything about it. The icing on this sad cake is that you could hear everything from the other side of the wall, which is…mortifying. Cough gently, and the people working on the other side could hear it, let alone any louder noises. You know the ones.

So that was the very first thing I dealt with. I had a bit left in the budget for that sort of thing, and I didn’t even hesitate. Bathroom renovation don’t sound like the most necessary thing, but I feel like a lot of offices neglect that sort of thing at their peril. People have to use the bathroom. If it’s an awful place, the workplace morale plummets. I even did a bit of research around these offices; asked the PI place next door, and the online marketing place in front of us. Both had nice bathrooms. So at least I had some renovators of bathrooms in Melbourne to call upon, who I KNEW would do a good job. At the very least, the walls needed more padding. A LOT more padding.

-Jin