Happy Day

O.K., everyone can stop worrying, I'm back to working with tools! Most of the work at Chalk Point is done, so I was transferred to Equinix Data Center in Ashburn, Va.(never did get to use that fire extinguisher). It was nice because most of the crew from Chalk also transferred to the same job. It's a whole lot easier to get settled and working when you know people. I've only been in this trade for three years(2 yrs. 10months), and I'm already running into people from past jobs. I've always tried to work with the other trades. We all have jobs to do, and we are all pains in each others' asses. A little courtesy and cooperation may pay off big when the journeyman plumber you helped out two years ago is the plumbers' foreman on your present job.

Anyway, about this new job. It just so happens that we just learned a little about data centers in school. A data center is basically a secure site for digital information storage and it's associated equipment. It's a rush job, so there's plenty of overtime to be had, which is always a good thing. My overtime pay is less than an A journeyman's straight time pay! It's pretty exciting to think that my salary will almost double in a little more than two years. I'm pretty sure that we're offered about twenty hours a week of O.T.. I can only manage about twelve with my schedule. I have an eighteen month old son in daycare, so my evenings are taken up. The crew I'm on is working on mounting electrical panels an equipment to control HVAC motors. After the mounting, we will run conduits to connect everything. Then we will pull wire into the conduits and terminate the ends. It sounds easy when you say it, but I guarantee that there will be plenty of headaches and it will take longer than planned. This job is supposed to be done in the second week of June. I don't see how it possibly could, but it will be interesting to see.
This is very good work to be doing, and I hope I'll get the chance to practice some of the things I've learned.

I'D LOVE TO WATCH A FIRE

It's funny to think back to the times when I enjoyed driving. I used to go for drives, no destination, just driving and listening to good music. These days you would almost have to pay me to be on the road for no apparent reason. One downside to this trade is the constant risk of becoming a member of the super-commuter club. With the exception of gas, long distance drives aren't hateful, but accidents, rush hour traffic, and a-hole drivers are. My round trip commute right now is 144 miles. In the mornings my ride is about one hour and fifteen minutes. Getting home can take me up to two and a half hours. I think my average is about an hour and forty-five minutes. As electricians, we must go where the work is. No telecommuting for us! On the bright side(or maybe the down side), no job lasts forever.
As I mentioned in my last post, my current project at work is FIRE-WATCH, and it's pretty awful. Being the low man on the pole sucks, but then again, everyone has to put their time in. Doing crap jobs makes you appreciate the good work even more. All I can do is be the best fire watch that I can be, and hope for a different assignment.
School is pretty easy right now. We are doing some review work on electrical code, and touching on topics like telecommunication wiring, fire alarm, and security systems. I think the idea is to give us a feel for different areas of our work. In about five months our paid day school will be over and done. In September we will choose electives to study in night school, so we should have an idea of what we like and dislike. Anyway, we don't have assigned homework anymore, all we have to do is study and pass our tests. Sweet. I don't know if I could even do homework with my current schedule. BUT, like I said, you still have to study for tests, which is what I should be doing now, so, see ya'.

Chalk Point "Work"

Hello again! Since my last post, I've been working at the Chalk Point power plant, and I use the term working loosely. I am ashamed at the amount of work I've done in three weeks. Everything takes three or four times longer at the power house,and it's very frustrating, at least for me. Security and safety are my two biggest obstacles. I have to wait ten or so minutes in the morning just to get through the front gate. At seven o'clock, we have a short safety talk before the long walk to the work areas. By the time I actually start working it's usually eight o'clock, which gives me just enough time to do nothing before stopping work at 8:50 so I can take break at 9:00. We take a fifteen minute break, so I usually get back to my work area at about 9:30, which gives me just about two hours and twenty minutes until we stop for lunch. So, after a thirty minute lunch, we're back in the work area around12:45, leaving two hours before clean up and the walk back. The power house issues contractors badges to get on the property, and I've probably spent three hours dealing with badges(long story). On the bright side, I hate my current assignment, so less work is good. I am on fire watch. Fire watch is when you sit with a fire extinguisher and watch a welder work, that's it! I make sure the sparks coming off the welded materials don't hit anyone or start fires-BORING!!!! It's not awful(okay, it is), but what bugs me is that I'm missing out on the on the job training, which will have a lot to do with the type of electrician I will be. I'm happy to be working in any event, but I'll be happier to get tools back in my hands. At least I work with some good people, so I'll try to make the best of it.

L84WORK

Wow! Has anyone worked this week? I've aways liked snow, but with no paid leave, I'm beginning to hate it. There is a lot to love about being in a union, so we take the good with the bad. I don't like paying dues, but I don't like paying taxes either. The good thing about it is that I benefit GREATLY from funding our union. As for taxes????? Actually, I know taxes are a necessary evil, I find fault with the amounts and usage of them. Anyway, our class in day school just started our fifth and final book. It seems like book four was only two classes long. As I mentioned in an earlier post, book four was mainly about motor control. If anyone was wondering about how my take home test went- 37 out of 50 points. Not bad, but not good. Luckily our in school test score was combined with our take home, which gave me a composite score of 89 percent. In this program, 74% is a failing grade! It was explained to me that it's generous to require us to be proficient in three quarters of what we are taught. Our last session in motor control had a hands on test in addition to our written test. I made only one small (careless) mistake. Book four was definitely my favourite so far. I will definitely be taking more classes when I get to night school. It's too bad that apprentices' work assignments aren't based on school, but I couldn't imagine how something like that could be coordinated, and with work being slow, I'm happy just to be working. Last Wednesday, my sub foreman told me I was being transferred to Chalk Point in Aquasco, Md. I was sad at first, because it causes me a lot more problems than I already have, but it took maybe 30 seconds to think of the guys on the bench that would love to take my place. My home to home time just got 15 hours a week longer(10 hours EXTRA driving(if I'm lucky) and 5 hours overtime. What makes it worse is a seven a.m. starting time. Okay, I'm done whining. At worst I'll be there for seven months(next contractor transfer), and I've never been on one job site for more than seven months. My first day there was Friday, and I sat in an office trailer for five hours going through more safety orientation. I've lost count of the time spent on safety training at Dyna alone! I think that the contractors are serious about keeping accidents (insurance claims) down. I'll be sure to let you know what type of work I'll be doing at Chalk Point, once I actually get to work. As most of you know,since Saturday Feb. 6th, the D.C. area has been hit with about 50 inches of snow in five days, and it's still freakin' snowing!!!!! Stir crazy? For some reason, it took Howard County four days to plow my road. The neighborhood actually banded together and blew/shoveled between 1/2 and 3/4 of a mile of snow 40 inches deep. So, after being stuck for four days I was determined to go to work today, weather and all. Bad idea. I nearly jammed the inner loop up this morning. Some as*$#!e in a hurry cut me off, sending me int a spin at 35 mph on the beltway. Luckily, my truck slid backwards into a snow bank. The snow bank probably saved my life and my truck. This adventure left me pointing head first into traffic, blocking half of the slow lane, just over the crest of a hill. Luckily my roadside assistance was johnny on the spot with four wheel drive and a set of chains. That's more than I can say for the Maryland State Police trooper who stopped. He was nice enough to crack his window far enough to tell me to get my vehicle moved as soon as possible-%$#%&$%&^%*^ . Anyway, trying to work today almost cost me a lot more than I would have earned, and maybe my or someone else's life. I learned an important thing today. Missing work sucks(missing paychecks) , but is a days work worth your life?