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Life is Awesome / Life Sucks
15 years ago
General
Life is awesome because...
- My job has gotten me into some very interesting places
- I have been part of a team doing a survey of manholes and confined spaces at the Pentagon. Basically, we wander around the Pentagon grounds popping open manholes. It's pretty cool.
- No, seriously; manholes are awesome. Storm sewers, sanitary sewers, high voltage electric vaults, steam tunnels… you never know exactly what’s under the next lid until you open it. One lid might be a 4’x4’x4’ box and the one right next to it might be a brick-lined shaft 20 feet deep. It’s like a box of chocolates… if chocolates had anoxic environments, stagnant water, and cockroaches.
- On one occasion, we MacGuyver'd open a stubborn manhole using a bicycle lock, two pry bars, a car jack, a pair of two-by-fours, a Chevrolet van, and copious amounts of WD-40.
- Many manholes at the Pentagon have locks. On one occasion the two other team members struggled with a lock for five minutes; I tried it and got it open on the first try.
- I have a Pentagon ID badge; I get a kick out of strolling through a security checkpoint and just flashing a badge while other people are waiting in line.
- I've had lunch in the Pentagon cafeteria, been in the central courtyard, and walked in a steam tunnel under the Pentagon.
- I have seen the sunrise... while standing on the roof of the Capitol building in DC. There is currently a group of contractors painting the exterior of the Capitol dome, and my company has been hired to do the air monitoring.
- To get to the roof of the Capitol, we use the same elevator that the Speaker of the House uses.
- My job at the Capitol consists of arriving at 7 in the morning, setting up the air pumps for my samples, and then taking them down when the day's work is done. In between I have nothing to do other than regularly check to make sure the pumps are (a) still running and (b) not on fire.
- I have been inside the Capitol dome and seen The Apotheosis of Washington up close.
- The view from the top of the dome is absolutely the best view in the city.
- On one occasion, I was on a railingless ledge on the outside of the dome with a harness. I did not look down.
- There is actually money in my bank account now.
Life sucks because...
- I had to shave off my goatee.
- Looking into a microscope for extended periods of time makes my back and my eyes hurt. After one of my training courses, I would close my eyes and see afterimages of asbestos fibers.
- Earlier this month, I was awake for more than 24 hours, culminating in a late night/early morning drive to Maryland where I was in danger of falling asleep at the wheel. I arrived at my destination, delivered the samples, and promptly fell asleep in my car in the parking lot.
- I am not much of a morning person; I do not like getting up at 5 AM.
- Scheduling is rather chaotic and often at short notice. Last week, my boss did not tell me until Wednesday that I was working Saturday and Sunday, and then he told me Thursday that he needed me to work on Friday as well.
- I have just worked 8 days in a row.
- Since I started my job, I have been having a string of automotive bad luck. My first day on the job, my Cougar broke down on the way home in the middle of an intersection and required a tow. Some weeks later, I rear-ended a guy while driving my mom's Honda Civic. A couple weeks ago, my Cougar's power steering pump died a violent death in the office parking lot. Just this past weekend in DC some punk broke into my Cougar by smashing the driver's side window with a chunk of concrete; they stole the toolkit I kept on the backseat but fortunately they left my 8-tracks.
- I still have very little free time.
- My job has gotten me into some very interesting places
- I have been part of a team doing a survey of manholes and confined spaces at the Pentagon. Basically, we wander around the Pentagon grounds popping open manholes. It's pretty cool.
- No, seriously; manholes are awesome. Storm sewers, sanitary sewers, high voltage electric vaults, steam tunnels… you never know exactly what’s under the next lid until you open it. One lid might be a 4’x4’x4’ box and the one right next to it might be a brick-lined shaft 20 feet deep. It’s like a box of chocolates… if chocolates had anoxic environments, stagnant water, and cockroaches.
- On one occasion, we MacGuyver'd open a stubborn manhole using a bicycle lock, two pry bars, a car jack, a pair of two-by-fours, a Chevrolet van, and copious amounts of WD-40.
- Many manholes at the Pentagon have locks. On one occasion the two other team members struggled with a lock for five minutes; I tried it and got it open on the first try.
- I have a Pentagon ID badge; I get a kick out of strolling through a security checkpoint and just flashing a badge while other people are waiting in line.
- I've had lunch in the Pentagon cafeteria, been in the central courtyard, and walked in a steam tunnel under the Pentagon.
- I have seen the sunrise... while standing on the roof of the Capitol building in DC. There is currently a group of contractors painting the exterior of the Capitol dome, and my company has been hired to do the air monitoring.
- To get to the roof of the Capitol, we use the same elevator that the Speaker of the House uses.
- My job at the Capitol consists of arriving at 7 in the morning, setting up the air pumps for my samples, and then taking them down when the day's work is done. In between I have nothing to do other than regularly check to make sure the pumps are (a) still running and (b) not on fire.
- I have been inside the Capitol dome and seen The Apotheosis of Washington up close.
- The view from the top of the dome is absolutely the best view in the city.
- On one occasion, I was on a railingless ledge on the outside of the dome with a harness. I did not look down.
- There is actually money in my bank account now.
Life sucks because...
- I had to shave off my goatee.
- Looking into a microscope for extended periods of time makes my back and my eyes hurt. After one of my training courses, I would close my eyes and see afterimages of asbestos fibers.
- Earlier this month, I was awake for more than 24 hours, culminating in a late night/early morning drive to Maryland where I was in danger of falling asleep at the wheel. I arrived at my destination, delivered the samples, and promptly fell asleep in my car in the parking lot.
- I am not much of a morning person; I do not like getting up at 5 AM.
- Scheduling is rather chaotic and often at short notice. Last week, my boss did not tell me until Wednesday that I was working Saturday and Sunday, and then he told me Thursday that he needed me to work on Friday as well.
- I have just worked 8 days in a row.
- Since I started my job, I have been having a string of automotive bad luck. My first day on the job, my Cougar broke down on the way home in the middle of an intersection and required a tow. Some weeks later, I rear-ended a guy while driving my mom's Honda Civic. A couple weeks ago, my Cougar's power steering pump died a violent death in the office parking lot. Just this past weekend in DC some punk broke into my Cougar by smashing the driver's side window with a chunk of concrete; they stole the toolkit I kept on the backseat but fortunately they left my 8-tracks.
- I still have very little free time.
