Why I quit...

Before I receive any more congrats on the job, I should let everyone know that I quit that job. I know... I know... it looks pathetic to quit after only working two days... but I had to do so.

Deep down I knew I shouldn't have taken the job... but I was desperate so I took it anyways. Shortly after accepting the job I already felt trapped. I worked the first day... and that wasn't too bad. I was a little sore... and really tired. After the second day I was extremely tired and extremely sore. My right shoulder felt as if I had broken my collar bone... every joint in my arms were killing me... I had a headache due to the two days of inhaling metal dust... and my knees were killing me.

The welding wasn't what was causing this (seeing as how I wasn't actually welding yet... all I was using the welding torch for was to tack pieces of the booms together)... but it was caused by moving the booms across a giant table... manually. These booms weighed anywhere from 800 to 2500 lbs... and I was having to roll them across the table by myself.

The next day I went to church... which didn't really do me any good since I slept through the entire service. I knew that if I kept the job my joints were only going to hurt worse... I was only going to become more exhausted... and I was only going to become more stressed.

I know that it would seem wise for me to just stick with the job and continue to search for a new one... then once I had another job lined up then quit this one. However, that wasn't exactly possible. I wasn't going to get home until 5 or 5:30 in the p.m. I wouldn't have been able to schedule an interview unless I took a few hours off during the middle of my shift.

So... I'm now continuing my search for a job.

I talked with a lady from the post office today. I should be receiving a package from the post office in about a week or so. This packet has information that I will need to study and some practice tests to complete. Once I'm ready I will then schedule a time to take the actual test. The lady informed me that those who actually prepare for the test usually make about 25 points higher than those who don't. On top of that... since I'm considered a disabled vet I will automatically receive an additional 5 to 10 points. She also told me that the post office prefers to hire former military.

The cool thing about this is... she said that I would start at a minimum of $20/hr. Based on my test scores it could be higher. She then said that the majority of the postal workers make at least $57,000 a year.

So... I'll be studying my @$$ off for this test.

Ok... well that's the update for now.
Have a great day.

I GOT THE JOB!!! :)

First... the above picture is the sunburn I received yesterday after welding for maybe 30 seconds. The picture's not all the great... it's a bit blurry... and it shows exactly how white I am. (not that me being super-white was ever a big secret)

Anyways... as you can tell from the title of this post... I got the job. I start tomorrow, bright and early, at 6 in the a.m. That means I'll need to leave my house by 5:30 in the a.m.... which means I'll have to wake up around 4:45 - 5 in the a.m. yay.

So... I guess tomorrow I'll have yet another update as to how the first day of work went.

Until then... have a great day. :)

Job Interview Today!

So... I had an interview at Manitex today. I walked in... sat in the office for about 15 - 20 minutes... then the welding supervisor came in and got me. He walked me back to the welding shop... showed me around... then said all he needed to see was how I well I can weld.

So the guy gave me two pieces of 3/4" thick steel. I placed the one piece flat on the table, then balanced the other piece on top of it making an upside-down "T".

He told me to weld half of the front... stop... then start back up and finish that side. He then told me that he mainly wanted there to be no undercut. (Undercut is when you move too slow or let the work area get too hot... which creates a small indention on the top and bottom of the weld bead)

Well... I haven't welding in about 5 or so years... so I was a bit freaked out because I was expecting my beads to look terrible. But... I took a deep breath... tried to relax... pulled the trigger and began welding.

I got half way finished and stopped. I pulled up my welding hood... and surprise surprise... it didn't look that bad. I noticed that I moved a little too fast... so on the other half of the run I forced myself to slow down a bit.

I finished with the front side. The supervisor rotated the test plates and then told me to run a bead from start to finish on the back side.

Again, I took a deep breath... tried to relax a bit more... and began to weld. I remembered to move slowly... and the back turned out even better than the front.

The supervisor looked at it and said it was good.

Before I left the testing station... I noticed another test piece... which I'm assuming was done by the interviewee before me. It.was.terrible. Seriously. There was deep undercut along the entire test piece.

The supervisor then told me that he had one more guy coming in for an interview tomorrow... and then he'd call me up and let me know if I got the job or not. I'm hoping the next guy doesn't weld better than me... because I really want a job.

Then... once I finished with the interview... I got in the car to leave. After driving for about five minutes I began to notice that my left arm was stinging a bit. I looked down... then I busted out laughing. Ok... so I welded for a total of maybe 30 seconds... and I have a very noticeable sunburn from where my sleeve ended all the way to the bend of my elbow. I completely forgot how much UV rays those machines kick out. Thankfully... if I get the job... the company will provide me with some leather sleeves to wear. That will definitely prevent me from getting a crazy farmer's tan like I had in the Marine Corps. (yes... we welded in t-shirts just about all the time)

Anyways... if ya'll could keep me in your prayers that would be awesome. I would really enjoy having a welding job... so if I don't get this job, please pray that I can find another welding job.

Oh... and one good thing about this company... they don't work on Sundays! :)

My Head Asplode

So... I'm back in Austin for good. I'm extremely excited about that... but I'm also a bit saddened by that.

I finished my math final this past Wednesday. I emailed my professor to find out how I did... to which she responded with: "...Great job in the class and on the final! You made an A..." Which means I should receive my associate's degree in the mail in a week or so. Hopefully that will help me find a job... and soon.

Today it hit me that I am back home. I won't ever have to drive back to College Station unless I feel the need to visit. This also means that now I must find a job. This has me absolutely terrified. I've been looking for a job for the past few months... and I haven't really found anything that I qualify for. Another welding position opened in Austin (well... Round Rock) last week. I'm going to send in a resume. The problem is... I haven't welded in about five years. Which means... the only way I'll get hired on is if they're in desperate need of a welder. I know that if I get the job I'd need a crash course to refresh my memory on how to set up the machine and the various techniques for the various styles of welds (overhead, flat, vertical, and horizontal). I'm afraid that because of the need for a refresher course, I'm not going to get a welding job.

Also... I'm 25... and I'm going to be living with my parents again. I don't particuarly like this idea. I mean... ever since I was 18 I haven't really lived at my house. I mean... I did for a few months until I started school... and then I lived here again for a semester when I ran out of money. So... for the last 7 years I've basically lived independantly... and now... again... I'm relying on my parents to give me a place to stay. I could go and get a place of my own... but then I wouldn't really be able to save up money.

Furthermore... since I've lived on my own (basically) for the last seven years... I've accumulated a lot of stuff. The problem with that is... there's really not any place for any of my stuff. I've already found a home for one of my TV's... and some of my other stuff will be put in my brother's storage unit... but the rest of it is going to be crammed in my room and/or thrown out in the garage.

I really hate the fact that I don't have a job... because that means for the next -however-long-it-takes-to-find-a-job- I'll be bored out of my mind. Of course... the days will be spent searching for jobs... but... I don't know. My mind hurts. I can't really think straight at the moment.

I think I'm about to go drink another beer then go to bed.

Tomorrow, after church, I need to talk with someone to find out what all I'll need to do to transfer my membership from Westminster over to Redeemer.

Hopefully I'll get a job soon. Very soon. That would be awesome.

The Best WAZUUUUP Video Ever

Ok ok... an update!

So... I've decided to finally update this thing... since I've been harassed by everyone to do so. ;)

Today... well... yesterday, rather... (my today)... didn't go how I intended it to go.

The day started off with me waking up due to some rather weird dreams. Let's just say I was in a secret compartment under a slide at a water park... with a caged lion... later I was with my mom and brother... chasing a car full of people who stole my brother's license plates (not his car... just the plates)... then I ran down some stairs with Dubeee... who must have magically appeared... and anyways... yeah... it was a weird dream.

Once I'm fully awake I decide to go check the mail. As I'm coming back inside, Andrew returns from class. He then asks me "Hey, do you know you're tire's flat?"

*sigh*

No... I didn't know it was flat. It was filled with air last night. Anyways... I then took my car to Discount Tires where I purchased 4 new tires. I figured I'd might as well since one of the back tires was completely flat (and had the wires showing) and the other back tire was in just as poor of condition except that it still held air. The two front ones could've lasted a little longer... but I would've had to replace them in a short amount of time... so I just decided to get all 4 new. So... now I'm $240 poorer.

I then returned back to the house... where I continued packing the things in my room. (I'm almost done). I then went to class to take my test.

The test was... odd. It was one of those tests where I think I did ok... but at the same time I had a really weird feeling that I did piss-poor. Well... I shall see tomorrow (er... today).

Saturday's going to be fun. I'll be playing hockey for the second time in my life. I must remember to go to Academy and buy... umm... protection. I don't want a repeat of last time. ;)

And... well... that's all ya'll get for now. Ya'll are lucky ya'll got that much. ;)