Had enough. Fixin' to burn this bridge to the ground. Started in Indiana, freezing, snow days galore, below zero temps sitting in hotel rooms waiting, not making money. Started to warm up in Indiana and lets go to northern Illinois. Snow, freezing, sub zero yet again, sitting in the hotel room. Starts to warm in Illinois and lets go to, yep, you guessed it, Minnesota. Lots of snow, sub zero don't begin to explain it. "No welding on tower below zero" on the prints. Welding? Shoot, I don't even want to grind and cut holes in minus 20 degree weather let alone weld! Ok, single digit and low teen negative actual temperatures, real feels have been in the minus 15-30's, almost minus 40 Thursday. Go up the tower, try and work 30 minutes to an hour, hands beyond numb, pain in fingertips, toes cold, no, entire foot cold, heels, toes and in boots rated for negative 20's. Half a day Monday, get hole cut between truck breaks to keep from getting frostbite. Quit around 4:30 because both of us complaining about having chills deep down in our core. Today, same thing. Go out at noon. Up and down we go. Get the hole finish ground, gap set, bevel finished. Guy I'm with his hands are pure white and says, we need to go down now. Again, chilled to our core.
I call the office, tell him we got the hole sized, ready to weld. I am then told, "you guys are killing me. This job should only take 6 hours and we've been on it two days. You need to grind and cut holes in the morning when it's cold then weld in the afternoon when it's warm". Ahhhh, warm? No, see in the morning it is mutha fookin frigid, freezing, in the afternoon its COLD. Cold is a glass of sweet tea, which by the way they don't seem to have up north unless you like raspberry sweet tea, cold is my coke, cold is a bowl of ice cream, this ain't cold this is hell frozen over. So apparently we are supposed to be on the side of the tower, in winds of 15-20 miles per hour, with the actual temperature at -8 or lower and the wind chills in the really awful range.
Ok, cutting 12 inch by 6 inch holes in 3/8" thick monopole tower, with a cutoff wheel. Radius corners. Have to cut three of them. No big deal, if it was 20-30 degrees, even less of a big deal if it was 50 degrees. Real feel of minus 20, 30 or 40, 60' feet off the ground above all of the buildings. If you got a guy that can do it in 6 hours in these conditions I say by God, you better call him and get him up here tomorrow morning because my butt is a ghost come morning. Have caught flak for stupid things that were not my fault over the last few months. Field verify prints?? No we don't do that but when the welder calls and says, "These prints are nothing like how the tower is actually built, did somebody field verify this" then I get my but chewed? Strike one. I was handed a 9" metal saw before Christmas. Put it in the mobile job trailer for the crew working the job before we left. They take their trailers back to home base, well, not this time. This time we leave the trailer in the middle of nowhere and it get's stolen. I get my butt chewed, excuse me, I said, "boss, I don't have that saw it was on Joe's trailer". "Why was it there?" he replies. "Because I had no room in my truck for it, we were coming back to this job after break and this is where I needed it." "Well that was real smart Shawn, real smart." Strike two and I held back on my initial response of, "why don't you go play hide and go f...yourself".
So today, fed up with freezing my stones off, fed up with being the root cause of not being able to work in this hideous weather, fed up with hearing, "the other guy could". Well, hire the other guy if he is just that darn good cause as the welding foreman I'm firing myself and going back to being the owner. When I get back I as the owner will chew my welders butt(me) for awhile over something petty then talk to the custodian(me) about getting the office cleaned up, give my secretary a call(me) and see if he is available to come back to work. Try and see if my chief mechanic(me) is still around and wants to come back for next to nothing to maintain my welder and get my Ranger 8 going. Once I get that taken care of I'll have to get my shop foreman to haul the trailer up to the shop and get the guys(me, me and me) to unload the steel and such. Call my insurance agent, hey!! Not me!! Get my insurance started back up, payroll(me) needs to get the workers comp straightened out and business license in order. Accountant(yep, me) needs to start doing receipts for last years taxes.
Yeah, back to business as usual I guess. Better that then being called stupid, hinting that I am in some way lazy because I won't work in ridiculously cold conditions which could cause bodily harm in minutes. Lucky for me I have taken such good care of my clients over the years they are waiting for me to come back and have worked lined up for next week! I guess I won't ever make mega profits, maybe I'll only break $100k gross business in a year or maybe $80k but I won't have anybody stomping on me like some worm because they think I "need this job" to pay for this pretty white truck.
Lesson learned, screw employee work, rather sit on the roadside selling cow patty's and being broke that to be made to feel like I'm not doing everything I can to complete a job.
Stay warm out there you guys and gals! I'm headed back south to good ol' WARM Tennessee!!! Minnesota is nice, Mall of America is cool but y'all can keep this weather! LoL!!
Shawn
Glad you got that off your chest. There, now doesn't that feel better!
Good, warm, luck to you.
Tyrone
Yes, my unseen welder friends here, turns out y'all are good listeners!! LOL!! My body is shaking in anticipation of warm 35 degree weather back home!! Think I'll drag out my shorts and flip flops!! Might even stop and kiss the Welcome to Tennessee sign!
i am out side today working on a small roof, its 68 and partly cloudy
but i am bettingthat mid summer it is going to be one hot MF!!!
somtimes an epic drag up is good for the soul
Back home myself, 41 for the high temperature today. Going to wash the salt mine off my truck, thinking it's good t-shirt weather! 68 degrees, my house is around that temperature and I'm sweating....so sad!! haha!
Back in the wooden ship/ iron men day I was told never drag a job. Don't burn a bridge.
Bad Ju Ju
Having done it three times: My rule is if I burn a bridge, the bastages will NEVER forget the fire!
And sometimes a good drag is not just good for the soul, it turns out it is good for the pocketbook!
Onward, through the fog!
First time I ever just left somebody hanging in the middle of a job. Normally I would finish, just got tired of being blamed for everything that came down the pipe that I had absolutely nothing to do with. Tools on stolen trailers, my fault, hideous frozen arse weather way up north, in January and February, my fault, lazy people who don't field verify prints, my fault.....yeah, glad a meteor didn't hit earth while I was working for them, would've been my fault too. I'm probably the reason Russian invaded Crimea, my fault.
Burnt bridges, did it before as an employee, several times actually. This was just another bridge in the burned bridge employee list of mine. That's why I'm back to being a business owner again.
Read as if that bridge was never met to stand up to the test of time and frankly it seems like it wasn't worth a wooden nickel to put any more work into maintaining it in my book Tommy... let that freaking bridge collapse and to hell with them!!! You made the right move because work will soon be picking up again and soon enough for you friend...
All the best to you bud!
Respectfully,
Henry
Looks like a good call Shawn.
One thing, once the decision is made, try to move on with a good attitude. Not preaching, but it doesn't help to cast stones. They already showed their true colors. Just move on and be the man we all know you to be.
Anger is one thing, as long as it is controlled. Bitterness will destroy good people. Don't get bitter. You made a tough decision that will have consequences. You can overcome. Go for it.
Have a Great Day, Brent
So true Brent. I got home last night and told my wife about phone conversations and they way he said things like I was stupid, lazy and how many times I bit my lip and did not say, FU. Which, is really hard for me to do. My wife said good job, you don't have to say that because you'll be at his level, be the better man. I'm proud of myself for that fact alone. It's the same old welding thing we all deal with, people who know so little about the industry seem to know so much.
Clap clap clap clap clap....etc. Epic drag ....I like that one.
Well, the epic part was the morning I quit. It is negative 11 and wind chills were in the negative 30-40 range. He tells me I can't leave that open hole and that I have to go tack the piece in. I said, "Have to??". He replies "you got to put that piece in." I then say, "I don't "Got" to do anything. First, it's negative 11, engineer says no welding. Second, I just quit. What makes you think I'm going to wait around here all day for it to warm up enough so I can go tack weld this piece in and not get paid?". I continued and told him that if he hurried and hired one of the 5 super welders that could knock these out in 6 hours they could be up here by the time it hit zero degrees and have it knocked out by that evening. He didn't like that comment.
All over now though. Good fun climbing, met some good guys, seen some cool stuff but some things just aren't worth it.
I've known many over the years that participate in sabotage, theft, get into arguments and even fist fights just to drag up.
THe old saying of getting into an argument with an A-hole and someone listening in is not going to be able to tell who is who stands true.
You stood your ground on good principal, refused to violate code, specs, etc. and left honorably.
Got to do job that the majority of humans would not even consider and see some really cool places from a unique vantage point.
Next adventure is????.....
Cumminsguy71,
I think you did the right thing. Sometimes the best thing you can do when faced with a negative environment is to walk away. Walking away simply means that the negative situation wasn’t worth your time or energy. It can be hard to remain positive and push yourself past it all. The trick with hanging in there is not to treat people as bad as they are, but to treat them as good as you are. If people say something bad about you, just remember that dogs bark when they don’t know the person. Your character is who you really are. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex, but it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move on. May God bless you, and good luck with your future endeavors.
Thanks Scott, have done my best to not say things that I could have.
Easier to walk away, as said, not worth my time or effort.
Next adventure?? Hmmm, not sure actually. Going to concentrate more on specializing in a few areas with the business instead of a do all. Don't know if this is a good idea but just seems that doing everything has a lot of costs with all manner of tools. More picky with clients, work with the real good ones. Still going to pursue my CWI though for AWS.
I have thought about contacting the local fire departments and see if they have a high angle rescue team and seeing if there was some way I could get on part time! Theft, sabotage, fist fights. After quitting a job that sounds like way to much effort. I have mailed back a box full of gear that I found cleaning out my tool boxes and back seat of the truck, stuff was scattered everywhere and smaller things. Sent back grinding stones, cutoff wheels, etc., etc.
It was cool while it lasted, cool places sometimes, excellent vantage point! Back in the ditch for now, throw some welds on some live lines I guess!
Vagabond,
I don’t mean to change the subject, but I just noticed your signature… How's that hope and change working out for ya??, and I felt the need to comment on it. I didn’t vote against Obama because his skin is dark. I voted against him because his soul is dark. The United States was born in 1776 and died on January 20th, 2009, when the Obama nation, or should I say, the abomination was born. Voters didn’t learn anything during the first term and they turned around and re-elected him. That’s like backing up the Titanic and having another go at the iceberg. In all fairness though, the hope and change is still a work in progress. We still need hope and we still need change, and we still hope for a change. And in change, there is hope. And hoping for a change is hope in change. And change for a hope is hoping in a real change that will change our hopes into a real change for hope. We give him dollars and he gives us hope that we will get some change back from those dollars. So far, this is our only hope for some change. Maybe he should change his slogan from “Hope and Change” to “If at first you don't succeed, change the rules”. Some of his other slogans have changed, so one more won’t matter that much. “Yes We Can” became “yes you will”. “The Audacity Of Hope” became “the audacity of dopes”. “Change You Can Believe In” became b.s. you will believe in. Obamacare is also part of the hope and change. It has the potential to save the country billions of dollars by scheduling surgeries after patients die, but I hope for a change in that policy as well. Oh well. Time for lunch. I’m off to McDonald's to order the new Obama Value Meal. I can order anything on the menu that I like and the guy behind me has to pay for it.
I love American politics! It is so clear and precise! UK politics are really complex! I do think mr obama is going to take your guns away though!
You may love American politics, but your understanding of it is lacking.
The American 2nd Amendment is stronger now than it's been in decades, the trend is for mo better in the future. There were dark times but the fight has been fought well and the resulting statistics and public opinion are clear.
New firearm and ammo and ammo component/reloading tools sales (private party, disregarding govt purchases) are extreemly healthy to the point of major long term shortages. Try to buy powder or primers at a decent price.
I'm sure your post was made with tongue firmly in cheek, but lacking nonetheless.
I do get a real kick out of watching the UK House of Commons on tv. Lords and Dukes and Princes getting all indignant and pontificating. It's better than anything William Shakespeare ever put to pen.
They bring the drama even more than The Great American Pipeline Welder. And that's saying something : )
Our crooks are much less entertaining, as they (with great success) feather their personal nests with millions and bleed the working man nation dry.
But the firearms and the God given right to defend hearth and home will remain sound in the U.S.A.
JT
Haha!! Where's the like button!
Thought this might interest you.
Tower Inspectors
________________________________________
TUV Rheinland provides consulting engineering services for communication towers including inspections, structural analysis and foundation design and analysis.
TUV’s employees benefit from competitive base salaries, medical and insurance benefits. TUV believes in rewarding its employees' hard work and providing a rich learning environment. TUV also formally reviews base salary and performance bonus annually.
The Tower Inspector Candidate will primarily be responsible for:
• Inspecting communication towers in the United States;and
preparing reports.
Successful candidates must have:
Previous tower experience (rigger, aerial specialist, C.E.T.) Experience working in the tower industry;
Willingness to travel (typically no more than 3 days at a time) Good attention to detail and a valid driver's license
TUV is willing to assist with re-location costs within the United States. E-mail your resume to:
Richard Lansel
Recruiter
TUV Rheinland Industrial Solutions
Mobile: +1 407-782-0223
rlansel@us.tuv.com
Skills:
Successful candidates must have:
Previous tower experience (rigger, aerial specialist, C.E.T.) Experience working in the tower industry;
Willingness to travel (typically no more than 3 days at a time) Good attention to detail and a valid driver's license
Hmmm, very interesting, thanks Kahunna!
My ass is red and my pockets are green. . . . . .and there's still some of this country I haven't seen!! Best two days on any job are the first and the last one. 
