Today on her way out the door K's words to me were, "Go to work, don't die." So I guess if I make it to work and back alive, or at least without lapsing into a coma, I've successfully completed my employment requirements? Hmmmm....sounds like a government job.
Are any of you runners? I mean recreationally, not from anyone. I must have had some brain chemical imbalance kick in as I have this urge to run a 5K, maybe even a half-marathon. K is studying to get her personal trainer certification so I've enlisted her help in preparing me. (I told her I couldn't afford to pay her anything, but I did offer to sleep with her. She was not amused.) She got me hooked up with an app that tells me how to ease into distance running without blowing out needed body parts/joints. I guess that's what personal trainers do....they have a superior knowledge of all the current fitness apps. Apparently what I did last week was all wrong. It seemed simple enough at the time: Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, left......
I wonder if I'll need a helmet? Or knee/elbow pads? Or maybe some kind of fall-prevention apparatus? Does OSHA have any jurisdiction over running? Jeez, I hope not.
"Go to work, don't die." Now she has me worried.
S
Showing posts with label OSHA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OSHA. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Once I thought I wanted a career....
....but now I realize all I want is a paycheck.
Is it just me or has life become dramatically more difficult in recent years? Thirty *cough, cough* years ago when I became a homebuilder it was actually fun. I began in sales and did reasonably well, watched and learned "how-to" build homes, and finally joined with my brother in our fledgling family business.
Back then a contract was one side of letter-sized piece of paper. Then it went to two sides of a legal-sized piece of paper. Today it's 28 pages long. We have to follow rules by OSHA, EPA, HUD, Fed banking regulators, Storm Water Run-off regulators, city mandates, state registration, etc, etc....Oh, and of course, the IRS. And insurance audits, too. Actually building the home is the EASY part today!
And homebuyers....*biting tongue*. They see something online and tell me, "That's what I want!" Except it won't meet current building codes. Or it features a product made by a local artisan in Vermont and isn't available here, and I don't dare order it sight unseen and with no local support....but that isn't what my customer wants to hear. They just think I can walk into Home Depot and buy 'em by the case. And they want me to negotiate a super-cheap deal on their behalf, but then quibble over my margin.
Please don't misunderstand. I am SO grateful the Good Lord has given me work during these tough times. I'll work diligently as always, but like that old B. B. King song says, "The thrill is gone." I don't want the thrill to be gone. I'm just not sure the thrill-kill genie can go back in the bottle at this late date.
S
Is it just me or has life become dramatically more difficult in recent years? Thirty *cough, cough* years ago when I became a homebuilder it was actually fun. I began in sales and did reasonably well, watched and learned "how-to" build homes, and finally joined with my brother in our fledgling family business.
Back then a contract was one side of letter-sized piece of paper. Then it went to two sides of a legal-sized piece of paper. Today it's 28 pages long. We have to follow rules by OSHA, EPA, HUD, Fed banking regulators, Storm Water Run-off regulators, city mandates, state registration, etc, etc....Oh, and of course, the IRS. And insurance audits, too. Actually building the home is the EASY part today!
And homebuyers....*biting tongue*. They see something online and tell me, "That's what I want!" Except it won't meet current building codes. Or it features a product made by a local artisan in Vermont and isn't available here, and I don't dare order it sight unseen and with no local support....but that isn't what my customer wants to hear. They just think I can walk into Home Depot and buy 'em by the case. And they want me to negotiate a super-cheap deal on their behalf, but then quibble over my margin.
Please don't misunderstand. I am SO grateful the Good Lord has given me work during these tough times. I'll work diligently as always, but like that old B. B. King song says, "The thrill is gone." I don't want the thrill to be gone. I'm just not sure the thrill-kill genie can go back in the bottle at this late date.
S
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)