Currently working at the same old place again, but I have some work tonight and over the weekend, so I will not get a chance anytime soon. William and I are doing that other job where we go into town and install new power supplies on 700 desks. Been doing it for a couple of days now.
At first, we were supposed to do it last week, but when we got to the site last Friday, they did not have any of the equipment necessary to put the supplies in. It was rescheduled for this week. They wanted us to try to do it each night, starting Wednesday, so we have been doing that. I have been working during the day and then going to this place at night. William has been going to school and coming with me after he gets out. Not a lot of time at home lately.
We have found that the original plan, to do this over the weekend, in two full days, would have never worked. We are managing to do about 75 desks a night, with two other people, which is about four hours work from 5 to 9. That means about 18 desks per hour. No way we would have been able to do it in 16 hours over a weekend. With us doing it each night, at 75 desks a night, it still means we will have trouble finishing this weekend. I think we can up the total to about 20 an hour, but still, finishing 700 desks by Sunday will be a problem. The other two workers say we can stay longer each day on the weekend, but I am not sure they will pay for that. They already are paying double time for the weekend but then add on overtime to the double time and that runs into a lot of money. Not that we would mind but I don't how they are justifying paying us as it is. It is a lot of work, so I can see the need to hire outside contractors, but with that much work, it might have been better to hire more of us instead of only four and paying us double double. But it's not my money or my project, so I can't complain. Other than the work, while not hard, is back breaking as you have to climb under each desk to make it work.
William is ecstatic. He is already planning on where he is going to spend all his money. It is already burning a hole in his pocket, and he hasn't even been paid yet. Plus, I do not see another of these types of projects in the future, so it could be a while before he gets another paycheck. And no other paycheck will be this big, so I hope he plans wisely. He won't but I can hope.
He is talking about buying a motorcycle. He can't ride a bike, but he thinks motorcycles are easier. I have yet to sit him down and explain that is not going to happen. I don't object to a motorcycle, but as we all know, being able to ride a bike is essential to learning how to ride a motorcycle. On a bike, you get to learn you balance and fall down a lot. On a motorcycle, falling down is not good, for him or the bike. It just isn't going to happen, and I need to explain to him why.
He seems to think it will be a lot easier than learning to drive and getting a car. While it is possible that is true and I give him credit for trying to find a cheaper option, he is starting from ground zero and needs to learn how to ride a bike before he even considers riding a motorcycle. I would suggest he buy a bike and start, but I know his answer will be that it is a waste of money and will take too long. I have even thought of maybe buying him a bike for his birthday and trying to teach him, but I know he will not like that idea. It is really the only way, but he is a teenager and has all his friends telling him what he should do, them having no idea either but who am I to contradict them. I would like to buy a bike for myself and maybe I can sell it to him with that idea, of us going to bike rides together, but why would he want to go bike riding with his dad. That is just not a teenagery thing to do.
I think, in the end, he will not be able to do any of this stuff, even if by some miracle, he gets more work and is able to save some money. He is like his mother; money is not something they can save. He spends it as soon as he gets it. Maeghan is different. I think it is just another way that Maeghan is like me and William is like his mother. It gets more and more pronounced every year. But I will not go into that too much at this time.
I think I can persuade him to do the proper thing, not spend his money, but if he doesn't spend it on this, he will spend it on something else. He wants to go to Tasmania next year and was supposed to be saving for that, but now it is the motorcycle idea. It will change again soon, I am sure. Always something else he wants. He has started buying things on his own. Lunch and things he sees in stores. He even paid for his own train tickets the last couple of times. Putting money on his transport card. He complained about how often he had to do it but I think it made him realise how expensive it is to take the train all the time. Maybe that is the cause for him to start thinking about getting a car or motorcycle. I know he does not realise that it is far more expensive that taking the train and the bus. Doesn't compare at all, but I don't think he sees that. He just sees spending money on transportation, and he would not have to spend that money if he had his own transportation. A complicated issue and one that I don't think I can explain to him. He will just have to figure it out himself.
Let's see, what is up with Maeghan. She has been spending more time with friends. Her friends for the school she goes to now, not her old friends from Tasmania. Although, one of them wants to move in with her up here somewhere, but I think I went into the bad idea that is in the last entry. If I didn't, then I am sure I will at some point. Her new friends here are starting to ask her to do things after school. I am not sure why now or maybe it is just a coincidence, but she is going out with them this evening, or she thinks she is, they may just go to lunch together, she was not sure. The original plan was to hang around Southbank tonight but that might have changed. She was not sure. She will find out when she gets into school. At the time of this writing, she is already there but I have not spoken to her to find out what her current plans are. I might when I go to park the car over near her school tonight.
I brought the car to work with me, as I usually do on Fridays but I should go back to taking the train. I normally do it so I can go pick her up after school on the way home. It is not really on the way home but we do it that way anyway, so she doesn't have to take the train. Tonight, I have work to do, so Juanita is planning on bringing William in on the train and meeting me at Southbank. She can then decide to either go home from there with Maeghan or, if Maeghan is actually going out, wait there for her and then me and William for us to finish work. If she goes home, we will take the train home, if not, we have to have her pick us up where we are working. Since neither of us have any money, I think staying in Southbank for several hours is a bad idea, but I think Juanita thinks I have money and can give her some to spend while she is there. I don't, so it would be better if she went home as soon as possible. I will see how it goes when I get there.
Speaking of getting there, it is almost time for me to start packing up. I need to leave a bit early to go into town to drop the car off. Normally, I leave at 3 and get there at 4, but I wanted a little extra time to relax before we work again tonight. Not that sitting here typing in this thing is work, but I am getting paid for it, so it seems like work. Maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part. In any case, I should be going. And I am rabidly running out of things to say, or not really running out, just tired of typing. My backside hurts and my fingers are starting to get numb, so that is the sign to stop. All in all, not a bad entry, but then again, by the standards I have set, that bar is pretty low. Compared to early entries, 15 years ago, it is not up to standards, but for the ones I have done lately, it is pretty good. Maybe not, but I am going to end it anyway.
So until next time,
Later
By the way, there is another ending I wanted to start using in the new blog I have yet to start. But since I have never started it, maybe I will use it here. If I can remember how it goes, I think it is a good ending. Let's see, where did I put it. I think it is on my phone.
Remember
It will all be ok in the end, and if it’s not ok, then it’s not the end.
Until next time,
Later Later
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