Friday, October 15, 2010

Equipment Accidents

Now since I work on heavy equipment (when I have a job), it's in my nature to become interested in most things regarding it. Not everyone gets as crazy as I do, I mean, I know a lot of people who just stop thinking about it once they leave work. Me, I'm incredibly interested in it, in all shapes and forms. I have collections of service manuals, training material, etc. I love it.

I'm also interested in the more morbid side of things. I think equipment accidents are fascinating. It's not cool that in most of these someone was probably injured or killed, but like everyone else, I slow down to look at car accidents. I present to you some of the images I've saved over the years. I don't know the story with most of them, but most speak for themselves.







































Now Look Here, You.



We've survived yet again, faithful followers. Friday is here, it's a beauty day (here at least), and it's time to get our weekend on. This weekend is going to be a good one for me. Along with my usual hockey game tonight, the Canucks are in LA to play the Kings tonight, then at home to Carolina on Sunday, and tomorrow is the party for my wifes birthday. I plan to eat a lot, and also consume a few beverages. Oh, twill be fun for sure.

But what that also means is that I have to go on a bit of a cleaning binge today. And tomorrow. I've been doing a bit here and there throughout the week, but now it's crunch time.

For anyone who hasn't added Google Analytics to their blog yet, I highly recommend it. It's a much more in-depth look into the stats behind your blog than Blogger itself gives. There are a few write-ups in other blogs about how to install it, but you can just search out how to set it up in Google.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Because Troll Physics Is Fun

We all love these. Here are a few of my favourites.






























Good Morning




Good morning everyone. Thank you to all those people for the kind comments of my last post. I'm optimistic about this new prospect, but a part of me is still a little apprehensive about it. Mostly it has to do with the amount of time between now and the end of my course. Who knows what may happen between now and then right? All I have at the moment is a promising offer that I hope will still be available in mid December. Who knows, maybe they will find a few more guys between now and then and not have a spot. I did ask her if she was sure they'd still be hiring around that time and she indicated that they for sure would be. All I have to go on right now is her word, which I hope is solid.

It's still a bit unsettling to be staying at home. I don't necessarily feel as though I'm missing out on any opportunities, because there aren't any. It's not as if people are breaking down my door to hire me. But still that feeling lingers. Maybe I'm just not the type of person who enjoys staying home, especially for this long, with no defined plan for the day. Yesterday I repaird a closet door that wasn't running it's track correctly, and the front door that never closed properly. Things like that make me feel better, but as time goes it gets harder to find the energy to want to do those things. Maybe it's partially depression that's keeping me from being more active.

What I'm looking forward to most is going back to school. I really enjoy taking apprenticeship training. I love taking what I've learned at work and applying it in a classroom setting. It bridges gaps, taking what I've done, then learning the theory behind it. It's also kind of an adventure since I have to move 3.5 hours away up the highway for it, which is kind of fun. The schools around Vancouver are booked solid, so I take my training in Kamloops, where I did my pre-app training years ago, and where I've done Level 1 and 2 most recently. I have a friend up there who offers me his office with hide-a-bed to stay in for the 6 weeks I'm there. Perfect situation for me, since I can concentrate on school and focus without outside distractions, plus it's only a few hours away so I can come home on weekends.

Three and a half more weeks to go before I start school. Here's to hanging on to my sanity until then... Especially if the Canucks lose more games like they did last night.


Wednesday, October 13, 2010

News, Everyone! Sort Of.


The company I had the phone interview with on September 23rd has let me know that they were very impressed with me, and are "very interested" in having me work for them. The reason they are not going to hire me right at this time is because of my Level 3 class coming up in November. They want me to go and get that done, then when I'm finished I'm to call them and they will "set it all up" for me. It's nice to think that they were really impressed, and have the foresight to know that getting my school done is of utmost importance, and recognize that both me and them would benefit from completing that level. After Level 3, there's only one more left to go. 4th year apprentices are much more attractive to employers.

So it kind of fits in with what I was going to do anyway, which is forego my intense job hunt until at least being partway done my 3rd level. If what the HR lady told me rings true, on the back end of it, I'll have a job again.

I'll tell you a little about that job. It's in Fort McMurray, Alberta. That's about 20 hours of driving time from here. It's 5 hours north of Edmonton. It's fucking cold there most of the time. It's closely situated to where all the oilsands projects are, and most people there are those who have jobs up there for the oilsands. Job is a 12x12 shift, meaning 12 days on at 12 hours a day, then 12 days off. There is a living allowance to help with room rental, there is a travel allowance to help with commuting costs to and from home. The wage per hour would be way more than anything I could hope to get around here as a qualified journeyman.

All in all, it would be most excellent to work for them. They're one of the top equipment manufacturers in the world, I'd be making sick money, and I wouldn't even have to relocate. Here's to hoping it works out for me when I finish school in December.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Cats Cats Cats

Good morning everyone. Here are some more cats for your enjoyment. I have nothing to post about so far today other than the fact that I am about to watch the latest episode of Boardwalk Empire, and have Dexter to watch later. Sweet, sweet television shows... On to cats.







Monday, October 11, 2010

Where Am I From?

Oh Canada :)


Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!



It's turkey time again everyone, at least up here in Canada it is. That means a day off! If you have a job, this is great, if you're me, it's more people to hang with during the day! The BC Lions are were in Winnipeg kickin ass, and the Canucks are on tonight against Florida. Nice! Enjoy the rest of your day everyone!