I have been pretty exhausted this week as I think I'm getting quite tired of working out in the Heat everyday.
Today I left at 3pm instead of 5 so that I could drive all the way across town to pick up a form that I need to fill out and send back in. This way I call appeal my decline of my Fed.Pell Grant. Basically, last years income determines this years finances. This is usually a pretty good gauge of the amount you will make unless you are supporting yourself and become a full time student then this is completely wrong to do.
I left my great job at WAMU bank so that I could pursue my education and I have never made much if any money since doing so. So, I am trying to pick up as much grant money as I possibly can as getting help from anyone in the area is next to impossible especially when it comes to money.
I guess that just brings up another point? Are we in a recession or what? No one wants to buy anything, and the interest rates are still low as they have ever been. Homes are all for sale but barely any are selling. Gas prices are Sky High, and Food Prices are Going up too.
Soon I won't even be able to buy a Gallon of Milk at the grocery store. I think our country has a lot more to worry about then the War Overseas.
To get back to what I was getting at, Paper Work from UCF is always difficult and adding anything can and probably will delay my MONEY dispersment for my Loans. This makes it extreamly difficult for these changes every Fall semester. I guess like Rocky Balboa says, life is about how hard you can get hit and get back up again.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Monday - Back in Orlando
Well I'm back in Orlando, I can't tell you what a relief it is to be back. Even with Heri talking down to me everyday I just was happy to be back.
To get into that, Heri is the guy that I initially had to report to for the Temp Sevice on the Auction Days. Since I was asked to Stay for the Summer and work Everyday and not just durring the auctions Heri is no longer my boss, Jeff is.
I haven't yet determined it but I think it is possible that Heri has BiPolar disorder. The reason I say this is because one minute he is in a good mood and the next his is just yelling at people. I try to stear out of the way when he gets like this. Anyway, sometimes for no reason at all he gets snappy at me. I don't really care that much as I know he isn't my boss and I just shrug it off. Monday Heri started telling me I was some sort of bad driver by saying that I needed to drive really slow and be really careful. He said that he has had some sort of complaints about my driving the auction bus. Know I know he must of mixed me up with someone else because I drove the bus only one time and it was over a month ago. No one had said anything about it before and I know that if I had driven improperly I would have been told back then.
Either way I just said ok and when on with my Job. It just always remind me of the time when he did something and blamed me for what had been done. He says that I impropperly wrapped some vehicles and I needed to do it again. I said OK. I went out to do the vehicles and these were all vehicles that I have never touched but I didn't say anything.
The same thing happeneds later when he asked me to do something because I should have done it before... according to him anyway, when it was actually his job to do it. I just let him blame me for his mistakes and fixed what ever it was he was talking about.
Well for monday it was pretty overcast all day and rained a little. The weather was a cool cloudy overcast 92 degrees and felt almost like AC compared to the other days I had last week in the Blaring Sun. I spend most of the day just helping others do stuff so the day went by fairly quickly.
To get into that, Heri is the guy that I initially had to report to for the Temp Sevice on the Auction Days. Since I was asked to Stay for the Summer and work Everyday and not just durring the auctions Heri is no longer my boss, Jeff is.
I haven't yet determined it but I think it is possible that Heri has BiPolar disorder. The reason I say this is because one minute he is in a good mood and the next his is just yelling at people. I try to stear out of the way when he gets like this. Anyway, sometimes for no reason at all he gets snappy at me. I don't really care that much as I know he isn't my boss and I just shrug it off. Monday Heri started telling me I was some sort of bad driver by saying that I needed to drive really slow and be really careful. He said that he has had some sort of complaints about my driving the auction bus. Know I know he must of mixed me up with someone else because I drove the bus only one time and it was over a month ago. No one had said anything about it before and I know that if I had driven improperly I would have been told back then.
Either way I just said ok and when on with my Job. It just always remind me of the time when he did something and blamed me for what had been done. He says that I impropperly wrapped some vehicles and I needed to do it again. I said OK. I went out to do the vehicles and these were all vehicles that I have never touched but I didn't say anything.
The same thing happeneds later when he asked me to do something because I should have done it before... according to him anyway, when it was actually his job to do it. I just let him blame me for his mistakes and fixed what ever it was he was talking about.
Well for monday it was pretty overcast all day and rained a little. The weather was a cool cloudy overcast 92 degrees and felt almost like AC compared to the other days I had last week in the Blaring Sun. I spend most of the day just helping others do stuff so the day went by fairly quickly.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Weekend
This weekend was a little different than my normal weekend. I went to my mothers on Saturday for a Bar-B-Q because my Brother was in Town with his Wife and my Niece. Turns out that my Niece is the cutest little thing. As a lot of babies aren't really that cute, especially when they are almost two years old and create some serious mayhem. She was extremely good for that little age. Although she didn't quite talk normal she still said some words so that we could figure out what she really wanted.
My Step father came in town to see my brother and I wasn't very happy about that as I never really got along with the guy and he made a big scene before my parents got a divorce. To make a long story short my step father took some nasty steps to possibly Kill me and/ or my mother before the divorce. He wants me to treat him like a father but refused to treat me like a son... so that's why I don't talk to him.
I did a little fishing, Didn't catch anything. Then my Brother took me and my girlfriend out to see the "Live Free or Die Hard" Movie, Which was Totally awesome I would have to say. It defiantly leaves you going WOW though out the movie as McLain continues to Kick Major Butt as he does in the other Die Hard Movies.
Sunday we came home early to relax and get the Oil Changed in my Girlfriends Car. So that makes the weekend.
My Step father came in town to see my brother and I wasn't very happy about that as I never really got along with the guy and he made a big scene before my parents got a divorce. To make a long story short my step father took some nasty steps to possibly Kill me and/ or my mother before the divorce. He wants me to treat him like a father but refused to treat me like a son... so that's why I don't talk to him.
I did a little fishing, Didn't catch anything. Then my Brother took me and my girlfriend out to see the "Live Free or Die Hard" Movie, Which was Totally awesome I would have to say. It defiantly leaves you going WOW though out the movie as McLain continues to Kick Major Butt as he does in the other Die Hard Movies.
Sunday we came home early to relax and get the Oil Changed in my Girlfriends Car. So that makes the weekend.
Through the Week
Well Thursday through Friday my week stayed about the same. I drove up to Sanford every morning and stood out in the sun for the day stickering cars. The only real difference is that I got some help from a few other temp guys. It made things go faster so that I could finish the stickering, which I did about Noon on Friday.
So Thursday there was this guy that the temp agency sent that couldn't handle the heat. He really only helped for about 4 hours and the help I think slowed us down because I spent more time helping him then actually just doing work. He was the most talkative person and it got really annoying fast. It seemed that the Agency didn't tell these guys that they were going to be working outside in the sun, so neither of them wore a hat.
The annoying guy was about 60 years old and says that he has done just about everything from own his own business to drive a truck across the country. We were pretty surprised he wasn't still in telemarketing because he really was so annoying. After a few hours he looked like he had jumped in a pool as he was completely covered in sweat. All the while he spent complaining about it... ARG... I just was really getting annoyed that this guy wasn't bright enough to put a sticker on a car and couldn't keep his mouth shut when he was unhappy.
So about 4 hours in, I aimed to convince the guy that he didn't want to be out in the heat for anymore of the day. I succeeded and he went home.
Friday they sent another guy who came in Nice Clothes. He was quite and worked very effectively. It was such a relief to not have the guy who couldn't stop talking working with us. Basically with this guys help we completed the Stickers Really fast.
After we finished the stickers I showed the guys how to Wrap up a car by applying the CRASH Wrap. The Clear Tape Wrap stuff used to seal up the windows.
Well that ate up until the rest of the day and Friday was over.
So Thursday there was this guy that the temp agency sent that couldn't handle the heat. He really only helped for about 4 hours and the help I think slowed us down because I spent more time helping him then actually just doing work. He was the most talkative person and it got really annoying fast. It seemed that the Agency didn't tell these guys that they were going to be working outside in the sun, so neither of them wore a hat.
The annoying guy was about 60 years old and says that he has done just about everything from own his own business to drive a truck across the country. We were pretty surprised he wasn't still in telemarketing because he really was so annoying. After a few hours he looked like he had jumped in a pool as he was completely covered in sweat. All the while he spent complaining about it... ARG... I just was really getting annoyed that this guy wasn't bright enough to put a sticker on a car and couldn't keep his mouth shut when he was unhappy.
So about 4 hours in, I aimed to convince the guy that he didn't want to be out in the heat for anymore of the day. I succeeded and he went home.
Friday they sent another guy who came in Nice Clothes. He was quite and worked very effectively. It was such a relief to not have the guy who couldn't stop talking working with us. Basically with this guys help we completed the Stickers Really fast.
After we finished the stickers I showed the guys how to Wrap up a car by applying the CRASH Wrap. The Clear Tape Wrap stuff used to seal up the windows.
Well that ate up until the rest of the day and Friday was over.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Monday Through Wednesday
Since my past few days have all been pretty much the same I thought I would pick a day that I wasn't completely exhausted to type up another blog about my hard work this week.
Well, This week I have been driving to a little town north of Orlando named Sanford where there is another Auto Auction company that is merging with IAA so I have been somewhat helping with the transition.
Basically to help with the transition I have been going Isle by Isle and Car by Car matching up numbered stickers with the weird number already on the car and stickering the front and the back of all of the autos in the lot.
Basically it by itself isn't that hard. When you factor in the Hot 95 degree days and the High humidity with no Cloud coverage or wind it starts to get down right nasty to work outside. Then another problem is that there is approximately 2500 cars to sticker so I would be lucky to get about 500 cars done each day working all 8 hours in the heat.
Fortunately yesterday My Boss Jeff came out to help for a few hours, speeding things up a little, then I should get some help tomorrow from a few other guys that should come to help. I wish there would have done this Monday to Tuesday as we might actually be done already, but who knows.
Well that's basically my highlight of the week so far... a real hot day, but no stress... I guess.
Well, This week I have been driving to a little town north of Orlando named Sanford where there is another Auto Auction company that is merging with IAA so I have been somewhat helping with the transition.
Basically to help with the transition I have been going Isle by Isle and Car by Car matching up numbered stickers with the weird number already on the car and stickering the front and the back of all of the autos in the lot.
Basically it by itself isn't that hard. When you factor in the Hot 95 degree days and the High humidity with no Cloud coverage or wind it starts to get down right nasty to work outside. Then another problem is that there is approximately 2500 cars to sticker so I would be lucky to get about 500 cars done each day working all 8 hours in the heat.
Fortunately yesterday My Boss Jeff came out to help for a few hours, speeding things up a little, then I should get some help tomorrow from a few other guys that should come to help. I wish there would have done this Monday to Tuesday as we might actually be done already, but who knows.
Well that's basically my highlight of the week so far... a real hot day, but no stress... I guess.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Weekend Fishing and PinBall
This weekend I went out to my moms and did some fishing on the Banana River. It was pretty nice except for when the mosquito's started biting and our repellent was no longer working.
Also, my mother purchase a old school Monopoly Pin Ball machine from a thrift store for $20 bucks that didn't have the power cord so we weren't totally sure if it was going to work or not.
So when my mother and my cousin who also was visiting this weekend arrived with the pinball machine they tried some adaptor plugs from other things that they had laying around the house. Nothing worked, or even made the thing light up so they quickly asked me to take a look at the electronics of it to see what needed to be fixed. First thing I did was open the back and take a look. The switch looked like it had taken some abuse over time but everything else looked like it was in pretty good shape. I cleaned the switch and tried again. Nothing, Next I took at look at the power supply and found that there was no way that 1/2 and amp could power something needing 1 amp, so we went to radioshak. There I learned that if you hook up a Tip negative to polarity to something that takes tip positive you can fry your system. I never even thought that was possible considering EE class doesn't teach you much about reverse polarity.
So I finally purchased the right size transformer plug thing and figured out it was tip positive so it explains why the others didn't work in the first place.
It work, we turned it on and Played the day away playing pinball. After a few hours later I set the high score of 617 pts. I guess this seems low and it probably is but this game is pretty difficult and getting points is fairly difficult.
Then on Sunday we went and saw the new Harry Potter movie. It was pretty good and I though was better then the others. Everyone else didn't seem to like it the same but, hey each his own. What I liked about it was exactly what they didn't like, that it was a Dark, Artistic movie. I think the dark is what turns people off but this one defiantly kept me entertained.
As for the fishing this weekend, I have some videos that I think I will post later or at least one anyway of my mother trying to catch a fish but it turns out to be a stingray.
All in all a pretty fair weekend where we caught a bunch of Sting Rays and Some Catfish (just put them all back), and almost caught a Huge Red fish but he fell of the line when we pulled him out of the water.
Also, my mother purchase a old school Monopoly Pin Ball machine from a thrift store for $20 bucks that didn't have the power cord so we weren't totally sure if it was going to work or not.
So when my mother and my cousin who also was visiting this weekend arrived with the pinball machine they tried some adaptor plugs from other things that they had laying around the house. Nothing worked, or even made the thing light up so they quickly asked me to take a look at the electronics of it to see what needed to be fixed. First thing I did was open the back and take a look. The switch looked like it had taken some abuse over time but everything else looked like it was in pretty good shape. I cleaned the switch and tried again. Nothing, Next I took at look at the power supply and found that there was no way that 1/2 and amp could power something needing 1 amp, so we went to radioshak. There I learned that if you hook up a Tip negative to polarity to something that takes tip positive you can fry your system. I never even thought that was possible considering EE class doesn't teach you much about reverse polarity.
So I finally purchased the right size transformer plug thing and figured out it was tip positive so it explains why the others didn't work in the first place.
It work, we turned it on and Played the day away playing pinball. After a few hours later I set the high score of 617 pts. I guess this seems low and it probably is but this game is pretty difficult and getting points is fairly difficult.
Then on Sunday we went and saw the new Harry Potter movie. It was pretty good and I though was better then the others. Everyone else didn't seem to like it the same but, hey each his own. What I liked about it was exactly what they didn't like, that it was a Dark, Artistic movie. I think the dark is what turns people off but this one defiantly kept me entertained.
As for the fishing this weekend, I have some videos that I think I will post later or at least one anyway of my mother trying to catch a fish but it turns out to be a stingray.
All in all a pretty fair weekend where we caught a bunch of Sting Rays and Some Catfish (just put them all back), and almost caught a Huge Red fish but he fell of the line when we pulled him out of the water.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Ahh its Friday the 13th
I just don't see why I find it such a relief to be Friday, when its actually Friday the 13th. I wouldn't have even noticed had I not had to fill out some paperwork today.
Friday the 13th is generally just another day for me as I'm not really a superstitious guy and don't really believe in all that mumbo jumbo. I actually have a saying, "I'm not lucky - I'm good." I know it sounds a little cocky but I guess it fits my personality well.
It is totally nice to be off work for the weekend, because this week was very brutal out in the sun and I think it's only going to get hotter.
Today was pretty much an entire day of the sun, where I spent most of it in the DROP ZONE (the area where cars are dropped off - prior to sale). We have to Shrink Wrap windows, tie keys, test for run and drive, put on stickers, change tires, take pictures, and fill out some paperwork.
Of course, this type of stuff generally takes some time and since I am pretty much just there helping everyone, I get little tasks along the way to work one. These little tasks consist of things like finding a car around the 1000s we have in the lot. This can get really tedious as some of the cars are in the wrong places and some don't even have pictures associated with them to help with the aid in finding them.
I am fairly exhausted today with all this weeks hot sunny work, and ready to just call in quits and go lay in my bed...
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Thursday Heat
I think after a long hard day you would think that I would really be burnt out. Well I pretty much am except my mind is still racing. I guess there are two sides of the coin when it comes to brains and brawn.
Today I used up all my brawn as my body wants to take a rest. I get home and take a shower as the day seems to be over for me. My body is really telling my mind that its time to take a break by my mind is telling my body to keep on going.
Today I worked out in the sun from about 8-12 wrapping windows, changing tires, testing from run and drives, putting on stickers, and strapping up the keys. The cloud cover was pretty scarce in the morning hours and I think I drank quite a bit of water.
After Lunch I manned the Guard Shack while the Guard went on lunch. It was a pretty simple job, just can be a lot to take care of. Considering if I see a car or a truck coming in to the yard without first checking in I had to stop them. I had to dispatch some forklifts to load up some cars for the multiple people coming in, but all in all a pretty easy job as the A/C was running and I was mostly sitting down for that hour.
After that I wrapped up some cars in the Building then Cleaned up all the messes around drove around the yard picking up trash and the day was over.
I guess you could say that today was a pretty fast day. Anytime something repetitive takes a while it seems to make the day go by faster. For me anyway.
Today I used up all my brawn as my body wants to take a rest. I get home and take a shower as the day seems to be over for me. My body is really telling my mind that its time to take a break by my mind is telling my body to keep on going.
Today I worked out in the sun from about 8-12 wrapping windows, changing tires, testing from run and drives, putting on stickers, and strapping up the keys. The cloud cover was pretty scarce in the morning hours and I think I drank quite a bit of water.
After Lunch I manned the Guard Shack while the Guard went on lunch. It was a pretty simple job, just can be a lot to take care of. Considering if I see a car or a truck coming in to the yard without first checking in I had to stop them. I had to dispatch some forklifts to load up some cars for the multiple people coming in, but all in all a pretty easy job as the A/C was running and I was mostly sitting down for that hour.
After that I wrapped up some cars in the Building then Cleaned up all the messes around drove around the yard picking up trash and the day was over.
I guess you could say that today was a pretty fast day. Anytime something repetitive takes a while it seems to make the day go by faster. For me anyway.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Wednesday July 11
I guess today wasn't as difficult as the other days as I didn't spend much time in the sun today. The day started out like most Wednesdays do where we refill tires or change tires for spares and then drive the cars through for the auction.
After the auction I was instructed to shrink wrap some cars that were yet to be put in the building. I spent a bunch of time waiting for the cars today as one of the guys there was being pretty difficult about retrieving the cars. Fortunately he isn't my boss so I just went to my boss and let him know of my problem and he made the call over the radios to let the Tractor-Forklift drivers to bring in these cars.
Since we have switched to clear plastic the wrapping of the cars has gotten a little easier but the shrink roll is so much heavier so it takes more effort to get rolled out over the cars.
So basically I spent the whole day using a Propane Heat gun out in the 95 degree shade. I guess it's just about as bad as being in the sun because I singed my arm hair because of the heat. (Have you ever noticed the really odd smell of burning hair? Un-mistakable)
After the auction I was instructed to shrink wrap some cars that were yet to be put in the building. I spent a bunch of time waiting for the cars today as one of the guys there was being pretty difficult about retrieving the cars. Fortunately he isn't my boss so I just went to my boss and let him know of my problem and he made the call over the radios to let the Tractor-Forklift drivers to bring in these cars.
Since we have switched to clear plastic the wrapping of the cars has gotten a little easier but the shrink roll is so much heavier so it takes more effort to get rolled out over the cars.
So basically I spent the whole day using a Propane Heat gun out in the 95 degree shade. I guess it's just about as bad as being in the sun because I singed my arm hair because of the heat. (Have you ever noticed the really odd smell of burning hair? Un-mistakable)
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
So Hot I almost Passed out
So hot today as I almost passed out in the sun. I was using a heat shrink gun to wrap up the cars that needed some tightening in the yard when I started to get a serious headache. At this point I was sweating profusely from my back and head, so I decided to take a few minutes break from the heat.
Every time I think about all the things I could have done to avoid this type of thing start to seem like the things I should have done. This summer I could have lied my way to full-time employment by telling everyone that I was looking for a regular job not just a temporary job.
I have never had any problem finding work before this summer because I have never told people I was only looking for temporary employment. This summer I have something to do that really sucks but I can be honest about my needs to go back to school on August 23ish.
Why is it that telling the truth has caused me more grief then telling a lie and then just quiting later burning the bridges? If I would have lied I would have ad a job months ago indoors, doing collections work or something. Now that I have explained that I'm planning on going back to school and really don't want a permanent job, I get to almost pass out in the heat on a daily basis.
:( ...
Every time I think about all the things I could have done to avoid this type of thing start to seem like the things I should have done. This summer I could have lied my way to full-time employment by telling everyone that I was looking for a regular job not just a temporary job.
I have never had any problem finding work before this summer because I have never told people I was only looking for temporary employment. This summer I have something to do that really sucks but I can be honest about my needs to go back to school on August 23ish.
Why is it that telling the truth has caused me more grief then telling a lie and then just quiting later burning the bridges? If I would have lied I would have ad a job months ago indoors, doing collections work or something. Now that I have explained that I'm planning on going back to school and really don't want a permanent job, I get to almost pass out in the heat on a daily basis.
:( ...
Monday, July 9, 2007
Another Really Hot and Difficult Day
So Today was getting close to one of the hottest days on record for this time of year here in Orlando Florida. I think it was Newsworthy of 96 degrees or so and the record for this time of year is 97 I believe.
I got to spend about 7 hours in it today as I spent the day wrapping cars and securing the keys. The sun can be really extreme when there is no clouds over head. Here in Orlando Florida, there is only 100 rainy days on average per year, and this year we are probably only going to get about 70 or so.
Some of the rain they are getting in the Midwest would be really great to have in Florida.
Since the 80's they have had this water restriction in place due to Florida Not having enough water to drink or to water our plants with. I know this gets confusing considering we are surrounded by water. There are so many freshwater lakes and streams and even rivers he in Florida that it just surprises me that we have such restrictions.
Well, back to the extreme heat. I have a towel that I wear on my head just to block the sun from hitting my ears and neck as I don't feel like getting anymore sunburns or skin cancer. I apply sun-screen every morning before I go to work like I'm a life guard or something.
Today I drank so much water but it just couldn't cut the heat. With the humidity level generally hovering around 50% the heat feels even hotter then it really is. I think the Feels like temperature was about 110 degrees today and I totally agree with that as It completely wears me out and I'm barely able to run home and type up my Daily Life Blog.
I got to spend about 7 hours in it today as I spent the day wrapping cars and securing the keys. The sun can be really extreme when there is no clouds over head. Here in Orlando Florida, there is only 100 rainy days on average per year, and this year we are probably only going to get about 70 or so.
Some of the rain they are getting in the Midwest would be really great to have in Florida.
Since the 80's they have had this water restriction in place due to Florida Not having enough water to drink or to water our plants with. I know this gets confusing considering we are surrounded by water. There are so many freshwater lakes and streams and even rivers he in Florida that it just surprises me that we have such restrictions.
Well, back to the extreme heat. I have a towel that I wear on my head just to block the sun from hitting my ears and neck as I don't feel like getting anymore sunburns or skin cancer. I apply sun-screen every morning before I go to work like I'm a life guard or something.
Today I drank so much water but it just couldn't cut the heat. With the humidity level generally hovering around 50% the heat feels even hotter then it really is. I think the Feels like temperature was about 110 degrees today and I totally agree with that as It completely wears me out and I'm barely able to run home and type up my Daily Life Blog.
The Weekend
I guess you can say I had a pretty relaxing weekend. It was really nice not to have to work over the past few days.
Saturday me and my girlfriend Stephanie went shopping for a bag, then went to the Movies.
The bag was for candy and coke and water etc to take to the movies with us. Although it might not be really cost effective as of right now to go buy a $30 bag then fill it at CVS full of candy and soda, it will become very cost effective as we view more movies. I don't believe that a movie theater has the right to ask you not to bring in outside items if they are stowed away on your person. They do however have the right to stop you from bringing weapons.
So the movie we went to see was Transformers. As a big fan of the original cartoon, which I watched growing up, this movie was awesome. Actually I don't really want to spoil it for anyone so I'm not going into too much detail except the actors were great and the comedy was exactly what keeps you entertained for the full 2-1/2 hours.
So Sunday my friend Eric was building this weird thing for his Van Truck thing out of wood and he asked for my help because he isn't real comfortable using saws and drills. So I spent the day driving around getting stuff at home depot, wal-mart, and a few other stores. Then we picked up some wood at his brothers house and set to cutting. It was pretty hot... I guess I'm pretty used to that because of the work I have been doing lately so sweating it up isn't something I really dislike anymore.
So after we finished all that I took some paint then graffiti my name on the side of his car, don't worry it was washable, and his car is really really really really cheap.
Then I came home.
Saturday me and my girlfriend Stephanie went shopping for a bag, then went to the Movies.
The bag was for candy and coke and water etc to take to the movies with us. Although it might not be really cost effective as of right now to go buy a $30 bag then fill it at CVS full of candy and soda, it will become very cost effective as we view more movies. I don't believe that a movie theater has the right to ask you not to bring in outside items if they are stowed away on your person. They do however have the right to stop you from bringing weapons.
So the movie we went to see was Transformers. As a big fan of the original cartoon, which I watched growing up, this movie was awesome. Actually I don't really want to spoil it for anyone so I'm not going into too much detail except the actors were great and the comedy was exactly what keeps you entertained for the full 2-1/2 hours.
So Sunday my friend Eric was building this weird thing for his Van Truck thing out of wood and he asked for my help because he isn't real comfortable using saws and drills. So I spent the day driving around getting stuff at home depot, wal-mart, and a few other stores. Then we picked up some wood at his brothers house and set to cutting. It was pretty hot... I guess I'm pretty used to that because of the work I have been doing lately so sweating it up isn't something I really dislike anymore.
So after we finished all that I took some paint then graffiti my name on the side of his car, don't worry it was washable, and his car is really really really really cheap.
Then I came home.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Day 9, Working Even Harder
I went to work at the Insurance Auto Auction again today, and boy was it hot out today.
I spent the most of my time today reheating cars in the lot to tighten up the shrink wrap. Now, when the sun beats down and the Propane Heat Shrink gun is blaring its ugly head, It gets really hot.
I have spent many days outside just hanging out in the sun, sometimes for fun. But, this heat treatment today was almost as bad as being stuck inside of a team mascot outfit for a baseball game, and that's hot.
I asked what the purpose of the HOLD cars and the big shrink wrapping was all about today, and the answer I go didn't really surprise me considering the look of these destroyed cars. As I was answered, these cars are held because they are under investigation, investigation of Death or serious injury to the passenger. Among these cars included a burnt Mercedes Clk430, A Dodge Neon SRT4, a Chevy Cobalt, Ford Super Duty, and the list goes on.
This type of thing makes me wonder what really happened to these people, and reminds me that I'm glad that I didn't purchase the 2007 Cobalt, as I almost did in January. Not that the car is bad, Like I said it is under investigation, but if you have ever seen the movie "Fight Club" that really explains why insurance companies put these things under investigation. If the cost of recall is less then the cost of allowing the car to be driven then a recall is made, if the cost of being sued is less then the Recall then there is no recall.
That kind of makes you think, there are a few people with the power out there and its a good thing to to stay away from first year auto's due to the possibility of recalls or... no recalls.
To finish my Day out it rained and I had to move in a few nice Mercedes for the Monday morning auction, one was a 99 SL600 V12, and it was a really nice ride. I just don't know why its at this auction, it must have been a donation car.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Working Hard Today - IAA
Today was the 8Th day that I have been working for the Insurance Auto Auction, IAA. I capitalized the name so that you know that's actually the name of the business and not just where I was working. At this auto auction I have been driving cars through the bidding area, shrink wrapping open windows, fixing flat tires, jump starting auto's, tying up keys, sweeping floors, trimming trees, and even dusting.
On the 8Th day I went into work at 8am like I normally do, but this time I didn't really have anyone yet to report to. Since I am a temporary employee for the summer and a college student, the selection of places that I can work is pretty slimming. My boss showed up about 30 minutes later so I just stood around for 30 minutes. I really hate this because I feel useless and really want something to do.
After my boss finally arrived he told me that I needed to sweep the big bay area then help some other people out in the Yard. The Yard is where we keep the cars that are arriving departing, broken, fixed, driving... etc. The bay is where the cars roll through for the auction and were we put the cars that we are wrapping, and the motorcycles.
So the Sweeping took me about 2-3 hours, that must give you some sort of idea on how big this bay area actually is. I'm not the kind of person to just do a quick once over because I feel that if you do something you you should do it right the first time so that someone doesn't have to come back and do it again for you. Before I could get to the big broom sweeper all the cars had to be removed from the bay area. They use these big giant tractor looking things with huge forks on the front. Yes they are forklifts, but the only way to describe them is using the John Deer Reference.
So In the middle of my sweeping I was asked to stop and help out the guy in the yard securing Keys and shrink wrapping up the windows of the vehicles that don't go up or are broken out. There is allot of this, after all this is called the Insurance Auto Auction so most all of the cars are Totalled Vehicles. In the middle of that I get someone asking me to go break off some emblems from a few Geico cars, Trail Blazers to be exact, and give them to the Geico Guy in the office.
Now when I was in the middle of that I was asked to help find some cars that were in the yard because they needed to be moved up to the front for loading.
Finally I fished all of those tasks and I think is was about 12 or so, so I went to lunch. 1 hour. After Lunch I was asked to do a quick finish up on the sweeping job. As I mentioned earlier I don't really like doing things half way, but I went ahead and did it the way I had been asked.
Then I was asked to cover and Heat Wrap some cars for Hold. Now I have no idea why we are holding cars that are Totalled. I can see why we shrink wrap them, but not for hold. I learned a new technique using a Propane Heat guy to shrink wrap a car.
The first car was a pretty easy car to do, it was pretty much fully intact and didn't have a bunch of sharp edges or anything to pierce the Plastic Heat Wrap so it went pretty smoothly.
The second car on the other hand had no rear axle, the roof was caved in and the front window was shattered. There was a big dent in the side were is looked like the vehicle had been smashed. I started to look for a Vin number on this vehicle and couldn't open the drivers door, or see in the front window due to the busted glass every where. So I was told to just get the stock number and have one of the associates look it up for me in the front.
First I took the big giant plastic sheeting and fanned it over the car, pulled in in a few different Directions and - SLICE... I cut my Finger. There was a shard of glass sticking up that I couldn't see once I put this Big White Plastic sheet over it I was done for. At that Point I looked at my finger and thought, wow, I could have sliced that right off. But instead I only took a cut about an inch wide and and about and eighth deep. I went cleaned it up and grabbed a finger band aid so that I didn't bleed all over the place. Finished up with the Car, Using I heat gun to shrink up the plastic and tying the whole thing in place with wax twine.
So I finished that vehicle and then had to do another. This time the vehicle wasn't much of a vehicle at all it looked more like a totalled wreck that I'm pretty sure not many people would have survived. Toyota Camry, which I couldn't tell until I looked at the twisted mangled trunk that was about in the middle of this Garbage Heap of Metal. I twined it Wrapped it and Heat Gunned it... Next Thing I knew, it was 5pm and time to go home.
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