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Feb. 9th, 2012 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bare_bearSo I was in the field this week, and it was probably the crappiest field excursion I've had since starting at this company.
Yesterday I was overseeing and sampling test pits, which basically involves getting an excavator to dig down at 2 foot intervals and sampling those sediments. Let me tell you, between ducking around a giant excavator to collect samples and standing beside a 13 foot deep hole trying to map the stratigraphy, my day was a little nerve-wracking. And then I was up until 12:30 am jarring bloody soil samples since I couldn't keep up with the excavator team.
Of course, the Sherlock Season 1 marathon I watched during the whole thing helped the tedium a bit.
But that wasn't what made this week suck, although the lack of sleep didn't exactly help. My brand new company van, which only had 21 km on it before I left the city on Tuesday, crapped out just after arriving in Langruth, where I was supposed to be doing an environmental walkover. It's a Ford though, so I should've expected this. I think it had something to do with the fuel pump (or something), because it'd turn over but wouldn't catch, or if it did catch, would die soon afterward. Didn't matter how much gas you gave it, it'd crap out.
And before anyone asks, no it wasn't the bloody battery. My first truck ate batteries for breakfast, so I know what a dead battery sounds like, thank you Useless Safety Coworker. And no, a boost isn't going to help. I repeated this to her I don't know how many times, but she went on treating me like an idiot and telling me that it needs to be done because they can't discount it based on my "false opinion". Because growing up with a mechanic for a father and HELLO MY FIRST TRUCK doesn't mean squat to her. But then, this is coming from a worman who wanted me to just go bring it to the local Ford dealership and then rent a car. From a teeny tiny rural Manitoba town. When I told her that there's no way there'd be either of those in town, she told me that it's basically my only option and I'd better figure out how to rent a car.
This from a person who's supposed to be part of our field support staff. And they wonder why they can't keep field staff.
Anyways, I called a couple other people in the office and they leaned on the Useless Safety Person, and she finally arranged for a tow truck to pick me up and drive me to the nearest Ford Dealership (which, I'll note, was an hour away, where the rental company we get our vehicles from was supposed to meet me with a new van. And they did...2.5 hours later. By the time they finally got there and I transfered my epic amount of field equipment and supplies (NOTE: my cargo van is literally full of supplies and equipment), I'd basically been dealing with this crap for 7 hours. Add a 2 hour drive back to the city, and I'm bloody done.
Did I mention it was -30C out with the windchill today? First really cold day we have, and I'm broken down in the middle of nowhere. Joy.
Anyways, I'm lucky, because a local older gentleman in Langruth came and helped me figure out what was wrong with the van, and then gave me access to his shop and especially his shop phone so I could be warm while I coordinated with the office on what to do. Because of course I lost cell reception as soon as I got into town.
What a waste of a day. And I can't wait for tomorrow, when I've got to either bite my tongue or give that useless waste of skin a piece of my mind, in a calm civilized manner of course (and I'm not sure if I can do that).
Yesterday I was overseeing and sampling test pits, which basically involves getting an excavator to dig down at 2 foot intervals and sampling those sediments. Let me tell you, between ducking around a giant excavator to collect samples and standing beside a 13 foot deep hole trying to map the stratigraphy, my day was a little nerve-wracking. And then I was up until 12:30 am jarring bloody soil samples since I couldn't keep up with the excavator team.
Of course, the Sherlock Season 1 marathon I watched during the whole thing helped the tedium a bit.
But that wasn't what made this week suck, although the lack of sleep didn't exactly help. My brand new company van, which only had 21 km on it before I left the city on Tuesday, crapped out just after arriving in Langruth, where I was supposed to be doing an environmental walkover. It's a Ford though, so I should've expected this. I think it had something to do with the fuel pump (or something), because it'd turn over but wouldn't catch, or if it did catch, would die soon afterward. Didn't matter how much gas you gave it, it'd crap out.
And before anyone asks, no it wasn't the bloody battery. My first truck ate batteries for breakfast, so I know what a dead battery sounds like, thank you Useless Safety Coworker. And no, a boost isn't going to help. I repeated this to her I don't know how many times, but she went on treating me like an idiot and telling me that it needs to be done because they can't discount it based on my "false opinion". Because growing up with a mechanic for a father and HELLO MY FIRST TRUCK doesn't mean squat to her. But then, this is coming from a worman who wanted me to just go bring it to the local Ford dealership and then rent a car. From a teeny tiny rural Manitoba town. When I told her that there's no way there'd be either of those in town, she told me that it's basically my only option and I'd better figure out how to rent a car.
This from a person who's supposed to be part of our field support staff. And they wonder why they can't keep field staff.
Anyways, I called a couple other people in the office and they leaned on the Useless Safety Person, and she finally arranged for a tow truck to pick me up and drive me to the nearest Ford Dealership (which, I'll note, was an hour away, where the rental company we get our vehicles from was supposed to meet me with a new van. And they did...2.5 hours later. By the time they finally got there and I transfered my epic amount of field equipment and supplies (NOTE: my cargo van is literally full of supplies and equipment), I'd basically been dealing with this crap for 7 hours. Add a 2 hour drive back to the city, and I'm bloody done.
Did I mention it was -30C out with the windchill today? First really cold day we have, and I'm broken down in the middle of nowhere. Joy.
Anyways, I'm lucky, because a local older gentleman in Langruth came and helped me figure out what was wrong with the van, and then gave me access to his shop and especially his shop phone so I could be warm while I coordinated with the office on what to do. Because of course I lost cell reception as soon as I got into town.
What a waste of a day. And I can't wait for tomorrow, when I've got to either bite my tongue or give that useless waste of skin a piece of my mind, in a calm civilized manner of course (and I'm not sure if I can do that).
