Sunday, August 13, 2006
Shop Talk
Yesterday I hired another helper, Danny, It seems he is a little short on cash and he came to realize his B-Day was not going to be the way to get all those expensive things he wants. Thru the years I have hired more helpers than I can count, some get fired for various infractions of workplace ethics, but most wind up quitting when they realize they have to work their ass off serving me and other carpenters by actualy doing exactly as they are told and moving tons of material and equipment, then cleaning up after us when we finish, its not a fun job. I like to think I have helped a lot of young people decide college is for them. With Dan I am hoping to do just that without the buildup of animosity and eventual hatred I usualy experience. I have fond memories of going to work with Dad, It always started with a big breakfast followed by a day of work, it never seemed hard to me but I always left filthy and feeling as though I had accomplished something even if it was just going to the store for a bunch of roughnecks and getting them smokes and sodas. At the end of the day I was a little richer and I felt a little more like a grownup. I decided to start Dan off like I did, except on weekends their is nobody to work with but me, and that can get ugly quick. It was kind of refreshing for me trying to treat him as an employee instead of my son and I think he actualy enjoyed it, I know he liked the part where you get paid. One day is not much of a career but we both seemed have a little fun and I know I felt a little more grown up. In the end I am hoping he will be just another one of those young people that decided college is the way to go.
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2 comments:
I too have fond memories of going to work on Saturdays and getting paid. I like your theory, because while I enjoyed being paid for sweeping and waxing, it did not inspire me to be a janitor. I have a not-so-fond memory of my own brief time as your helper, though. I remember hauling sheets of drywall from one place to another at your direction, with you ragging on me for not carrying more sheets at one time. I thought my arms were going to fall off at the end of that day, which you may have enjoyed a bit too much :). I expect your management skills, which bear a strong resemblance to parenting skills, have sharpened a bit since then.
Garrett and I both fondly remember going to work with Dad at Polymorphic. I recall some activities involving a demonstration of programming, but Garrett mostly remembers playing with the various toys around the office supplied by Dad's partner, Hal. Either way it seems to have cured us both of any desire to be programmers. On the other hand, I remember going to work with Uncle Rob while he was a post-doc at Stanford and thinking that his lab was just about the coolest thing ever. That seems to have only encouraged my aspirations to be a lab rat. Guess it can go either way.
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