If you dont know...

It is THIRSTY THURSDAY and I will be completely honest, I am pretty thirsty. Too bad the beers don't go with the diet.

Another hot one out there today, just not as humid. More work today of doing thins the hardest way possible. We have to learn methods of the 'Old School' way of doing electrical line work before they teach you the new, modern era way. It kind of sucks.

About noon today, half of the class was called back to their working platforms or districts due to extreme thundershowers approaching. Do you think my shop called Jimmy & I....... nope.Up there, we are still lower than whale shit. Unlike other districts that use their apprentices fully, Lebanon labels their apprentices "broken shovels" and choose not to let you do much at all. I am learning that the guys in my class have been in the company half the time I have and have been allowed to do a hell of alot more.

Now most people would be content being the broken shovel, but I hate sitting around watching others, or being cradled by the senior guys. Give me something to do damn it. It is why I show up everyday.

Oh well, today's venting was brought to you by the letters 'P, V, & Q' and the number '4' .......5:12PM 6/28/07

"......how 'bout this HEAT?!?!?"

".....I'm an asshole, eee-ole, eee-ole!"----Denis Leary

A great comedy DVD by the way. My friend Lunchbox treats it like holy doctrine.

Today was hazy, hot, & humid. Air quality.....totally piss-poor.

Not the day I wanted to be in full gear in the blazing sun, climbing & working up & down utility poles. Two more days, twomore days, twomoredaze. Whoah! My head just nodded off, a quick pivot & I am right back in.

I am supposed to be going out for a bit tonite with another guy down here from home who is here for a different training.....Jimmy. Jimmy is a hot shit who cracks me up. We went out one night last week & he took me to a bar that should have given you a tetanus shot with your drink. Big dive and I am not talking skydive.

Oh well, not much to ramble on about...too hot.

Keep it under a hundred.... 5:01PM 6/27/07

A Day of Mixed Feelings...

It is a hot day, it is a sad day, it is a happy day.





First, I find it to be sad because of the tragic news of pro wrestler Chris Benoit. It was sad enough to hear of his passing, but now to hear of the news of him murdering his wife and young son...... unfathomable. (For those of you who know me, I used to be a big fan of WWF/WCW wrestling for many years. Now I am more of a closet fan as I do not give it the time I used to.) Here was a wrestler who was phenomenal at what he did. I liked to watch the 'Canadian Crippler' in the ring. He was a little guy in a world of giants and he was tough as nails. But it seems in the end that steroids have taken its toll. As they do with all these guys (A little over a year ago, years of steroids claimed Eddie Guerrero---the other guy in the above picture.) Lyle Alzado (Of Oakland Raiders fame) died from a brain cancer that resulted from massive steroid abuse. Many wrestlers have died early due to abuse.....hearts giving out, other drug abuse, rage. It is a shame. Chris Benoit definitely drew the black curtain over the great career he had in his final, desperate hours.




Onto other things....TODAY WAS HOT!!! tomorrow.....even hotter. Can you say "suck"? I can! Unpleasant...oh yeah...let's wear canvas pants, long sleeve shirts, and leather gloves and go climb some utility poles!!!





The happy news is that I have next week off from Mass and I have a 5 day weekend for the 4TH..... time to ride!!!





Bundle up, it's a scorcher!!! 6:03PM 6/26/07

Monday...STARDATE -315518.55

For real, I went to the Stardate website to find it.

I have returned to where the world is Flat. Hell week is over, but the pain still rears it's ugly head. It is something in the shoulder now. The price of getting old.

I had a great weekend, a short weekend, but great non the less. Bapple & I took the bike up through Franconia Notch. Had lunch, and learned that you now have to PAY to see the bears at Clark's Trading Post. What a bunch of shit that was!

If you are not familiar with Clark's, it is a Family run place that has been around for a long time. They have wild bears (all the same family of bears) that for generations come there all summer and do tricks & stuff and in the winter, they are released back in the wild to hibernate. These bears return to this place on their own accord. Well, when I was a kid, you drove in and could look down into their pen from the parking lot and send food into them. There was a gumball machine there filled with feed and you put it in the can and lowered or raised it to the bear via pulley. This is gone now. Where you used to look in is all boarded up. This is so you go pay the $18 to get into their growing amusement park. Needless to say I was thoroughly disappointed to see yet another thing from my youth GONE!

Any way that's enough ranting.

Live long & prosper. 5:48PM 6/25/07

Hell Week....over

Well, I made it. It was perhaps the hardest thing I have ever done to myself physically. I pushed hard on Friday (day 5) to pass all that was asked of me & even went the extra mile when I was told I did not have to.

My instructors, both hardened & seasoned Linemen, told me that I had worked the hardest and surprised even them with how much I changed in 5 days to keep up physically with the itinerary.

I don't take pride in a lot of things, I am sort of a 'Negative Nelson' person, but I must say, I am real proud of achieving something that not many people can. Skydiving and Climbing school in less than a week of each other. Today is Saturday, I am home for the weekend.....VERY tired, but very happy to be home with my Bapple.

Keep it in your sneaker. 12:56PM 6/23/2007

Day 4..almost home...for 2 days

Well, today was.....less involved than I thought it would be. I did complete my check list & after tomorrow I should be 100% complete with 'Hell week'.



My 'big boss' showed up here in Mass today with the rest of my gear..... the same gear I needed all week. I have gotten through 'Hell week' on borrowed gear.

He talked with the trainers that said my effort was 150% and even though I was not the fastest, agile guy there, I was very capable of finishing the next 7 weeks after this.



Not bad for a fat guy.... a fat guy who shed 4 pounds so far..... 7 weeks more of this...watch out!!



Oh well, it's late.



I'm out... 10:07PM 6/21/07 Summer Solstice

Day 3.... Forging ahead....

I'll be quite honest with you. If you ever told me 10 years ago that I would be at a training facility climbing 40-45' wooden poles, I would have laughed you out of the room!!! Although, 10 years ago I weighed 185lbs, and was in alot better shape. Two & a half years behind a desk did me NO justice what-so-ever.

Today:
Well, it took me 30 minutes to get out of bed. I could barely move. Last nite, it took me forever to fall asleep due to the strong sent (which still hangs in this room) of 'Ben Gay' & the 'Icy Hot' patches I was wearing.... which by the way really did not help with the pain.

The good news is that I did not fall today, the climbing seems to be moving better, the class is all starting to pull together, and the determination I have shown has impressed the instructors. Note: When you are one of the oldest, and heaviest students, you are watched closely to see if you can physically hack it. That is a question I ask myself daily..... especially when it takes 30 minutes to maneuver my body out of bed.

Oh well, 3 down.... 2 to go, then home for the weekend w/ Bapple...oh yeah, and Jinx.

Remember....
Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. 5:02PM 6/20/07

Day 2 of Hell week

Well, it is only day 2 of climbing school and I feel like I have had my ass kicked. I hurt in places I did not think possible. It was a rough day, but I managed to complete a 'free climb' which is just with your hands & feet up a 40' pole, with no belt/strap around the utility pole. I must admit, I thought I was going to have a heart attack....no sh!t.

I did also manage to fall today.....again. I fell yesterday too.You see, we are tethered to the the pole top with a retractable lanyard that works like a seat belt. It is quite a pulse jump when you are falling and trying to catch yourself without getting splinters. In the end, the instructors asked if I wanted to come down to rest, but I went back up what I just fell down. At 250lbs, I have to show that I am trying harder than everyone else.

When the day is over, I have been trying a routine of treadmill, recumbent bike, swimming, & hot tub here at the luxurious 'Hampton Inn'. Right now I smell like 'Ben Gay' and feel like hell! I can't wait for this week to end.

Plus......I miss my Bapple.

Keep your thumb on it. 6/19/07 8:22PM

Hell week & The Dive.....

Well, why am I doing a 'Blog' you might ask? Well, I am pissing away my whole summer for the multi-billion dollar corporation that I work. Simply put, I am in what one could relate to as "Basic Training" for Linemen.

Note: I am in horrible shape & day one was a total hell. I fell from the top of a 40' Utility pole while tethers to the top. I caught myself after only 6 feet, but it really f-ing hurt. A 33+ year old, 250LB man is not meant for such physical feats....especially when it is 90 degrees out and we are required to wear long sleeves & pants with logger boots. ----When do I go to Iraq?

This past weekend--6/16/07..... my dearest Bapple (for those who know me...that is Angie) and the Morin's & I dove out of a plane at 14, 000 feet. Gravity took it's course. I have a great mind to make Skydiving a hobby. If I can shave 30-40LBS, I can get certified....It was a total rush!!

There are a few pics here from the event!

Oh well, I hope to update as often as possible from my training here in Millbury, Mass. I am here every Monday-Friday until mid-August. For now it is late, and I am sore....and beaten.

---Keep it real. 9:46pm 6/18/07