Saturday, March 29, 2008

Thirty-Three Days

It's been a looooong time since I pulled 33 days in a row at work.

No complaints here. Good times good checks.

Some of those days were only 4 hours. Some were 11 hours.

Standing on my head. Coulda done the whole thing standing on my head.

Attitude and atmosphere make a world of difference.

I've worked in a lot of different facilities over the last twenty years.

A LOT of 'em.

From shady little outfits to major corporations.

From Cessna 150's to Boeing 757's.

From Nebraska to Panama to Kenya to Korea.

Every one of them different.

Almost all of them I was able to walk in and take off running.

I count three where obstacles met me at the door.

Three out of.... well dozens.

That's not too bad but when ya get into one of those three your world can become a dump.

I could go into a long comparison of the last few facilities I've worked in but I'm not going to do that now.

I will say that the last place was a bust from the beginning. One of my infamous, "It sounded like a great idea at the time.' moments.

Now, as a contractor, a gypsy, a transient it's a whole lotta better.

I walked into this facility. I sought out my point of contact. Ya wanna know what he said to me? First words out of his mouth?! "Get your F*&^%G tool box and get to work."

Ya wanna know what I said?

Not a word.

I unloaded my Snap-On treasure chest and went to F*&^%G work.

I've been busy since.

Up until today I've had 3 days off. Tomorrow will make 4 and with any luck I'll start another run.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm old enough to understand that it's easier to trace my steps looking backwards than it is looking forward. As an eager A&P student I could see myself doing (and enjoying) maintenance work for a few years. I've met a handful of mechs who have been at it for over 20 years and they still enjoy what they do. I guess the slogan "turning wrenches your whole life" leaves me a little uneasy. Maybe it's a generational thing. I'm relatively young and my curiosity about our little planet has only grown since I started studying aviation. In the end I'd like to have the same freedom of leaving aviation the same way I entered it. Only time will tell I suppose.

David said...

Rodolfo,

I am damn glad to hear that!

I'm old enough to know that if I'm still turning wrenches in ten years I'll be miserable.

NOT because I don't like it (some days more and some less) but because it will represent a sort of failure on my part.

I know a lot of guys that have been doing this for 30 years. I've known guys (OK a long time ago) that had/ have been doing it longer than I've been alive. I can think of two of those guys that are STILL ACTIVE albeit semi retired!!!

I kinda doubt you'll ever meet a guy with an A&E icense. That's kinda sad too.

I'll post the 'what would you do different' list soon.

David