After going from crappy job to crappy job and only spending a couple of weeks to a month there over the past year with big gaps in between, I finally hit blue-collar. Having a wife and a 10-month-old to provide for, I'd been searching for a little more work like that.
Today I started at a job a buddy owns and runs and does a lot of the work himself. It's kind of an all-around gig with landscaping, construction, building wood furniture, remodeling, etc. With different things to do, it'll be interesting every week and not a repetitive desk job.
Today was landscaping. We had to trim bushes, clear pine straw, and brush, flatten dirt out in prep for weed guard, lay weed guard.
Sounds easy enough right? Yeah, no.
With large flowerbeds full of decent size brush it was challenging to get maybe two thirds of the total project done. Tomorrow does it all at one location including laying rocks then return to the original site to lay more weed guard, edging, and rocks.
Now, I've worked some rough jobs but mainly got paid in food. I grew up on a farm with farms around me so summers were spent helping the neighbors with hay and other tasks. Well, that's been five years ago and I'm not in shape like that.
The hardest parts of today were the Alabama heat and I'm out of shape. When I say there wasn't any shade, there was none. To cool off, you'd need drinking water to pour on your head — but as it went in I'd sweat it out immediately or as I poured it, it would evaporate immediately. As far as being out of shape, I've never been in shape — but I've been in a way better shape then I am now. As I work more, that part will change.
So most of this has been me complaining right? Well, yeah, because I'm dead and the work sucked.
So why do I feel great?
I feel accomplished, simple as that. I proved myself to my employer. Yes, there were times I'd take a couple of too many water breaks but he didn't want me to die so if I needed water it was there. Yes, I slowed down a couple of times but I didn't stop. I kept going and there's a difference — and he noticed and was glad that I didn't stop.
I'm a new employee getting over a bad cold while working in the heat a job I have no experience in so for me to pick up on things and learn quickly and keep pushing past mental blocks was great.
So for me, it was a hard day but no blue-collar job is going to be great.
With a family to provide for you must give it you're all. I wanted to quit multiple times today but you have to break down those walls and keep going to make it through life and I'm damn proud of myself.
