Rainy Aftermath

So on the new project I'm working on, we are doing tons of drainage stuff and well, rain is not good.

This is supposed to be a check dam and the water isn't supposed to be flowing.... oops. This caused for flooding in a different part of the project. Serious problems on this site.

Taken Wednesday August 7th.

Dangerous Weather

On Wednesday, our dirt work operations were stopped due to the rain. Then, as you'll see in the video, our crane work was stopped due to lightning.

(And yes, that was a seriously lucky shot. I was just recording rain and bam!)

Clouds Behind Four Winds' Tower

Even while doing something as boring as measuring pavement markings, it's important to look at the world around you.

Big Hole

This hole is really big. The engineer that designed to keep all the soil and sand out didn't anticpate this much weight though and... well... the steel started to buckle. All work had to stop, and people were fleeing. Not much work can get done when workers refuse to go where they need to do the work.

They could legit die if just one panel was to break. Each panel is 1/2 inch of steel.

Yessssss

This makes my inner nerd surface!

A excavator lifting an excavator (well... technically it's a backhoe, but it excavates... so...)

A W E S O M E!!

Just a Little Girl

Sorry for the long hiatus, but work as been a source of depression this last week. I want to just write silly posts judging bathroom and oogling at big equipment, but sometimes this job gets serious, and team members don't work together.

What happened is the kind of thing that makes women scarce in this field. It's the stereotypical danger in hiring a woman. It's what all that sensitivity training that people roll their eyes at is for.

I was yelled at and disrespected and harassed. [If you want the story, message me.] Long story short, I talked to my supervisor after trying to brush aside the whole thing, and I got removed from the jobsite (at my supervisor's advice and to my agreement.)

Problem solved! Yay right? Nope, I've been on boring projects ever since, and even though there is a need for me on that jobsite, they have to overwork a different co-op to cover my absence.

The worst part is now I feel people are watching me harder, like judging my personality or the way I approach others to see if I could have brought this harassment on myself.



Today I was at a jobsite, and I was working with a new engineer and two inspectors. The engineer was female, and one of the inspectors was an old MDOT employee. The engineer said talking to the inspectors, "I had lunch today with your boss." And the old MDOT guy said, "Oh, did you sleep with him?" She was embarrassed at his comment, but she just continued on the conversation. It's just obnoxious. She's a married woman and a mother. She's their boss for goodness sake.

Sometimes I have to really remember why I am going into this field, filled with idiots who will never respect me, no matter my title, education, or experience.

Eric Bridgman Cafe Closet Bathroom

Now, sometimes I just weird.

I went into the dollar store to use the bathroom (since I needed to buy dollar store items) and because it was an old downtown building, there was no bathroom. Err, well, there was a bathroom? The back of the store had a door to go upstairs since it built in a time when people lived above their shops. So it did have a bathroom, it's just someone's... house.

I was being really not social and I just wanted to use a bathroom. I bought my items and left with as little human contact as possible. Only, I really needed to go. Like terribly so.

I dropped my items into the car, and dashed to the nearest building that might have a bathroom. It was a small cafe: Eric Bridgman's.

Now, when I mean small, I mean tiny. It was a really kozy place for old people. Well, I had lunch waiting in the car and little time to be away from the job site, so I quickly scanned the room for a door or hallway, and the woman across the room (maybe 30' away) asked if she could help me.

"Do you have a bathroom?"
"Do we have a bathroom? Well, sure we do. *sighs* It's in the back of the kitchen."

I dashed as fast as I could, but was stopped in order to sqeeeeeeeeze between the kitchen applicances and few workers. It was the size of a bathroom. Then as I'm almost a foot away from the back exit, I see this less-than-normal sized door leading into a room truly smaller than a closet. Found the bathroom!

I think a port-a-potty would have been bigger. I will say it was cleanish though. Hot, no air, so it was really hot and sticky in there. When I got out, there was an old man standing in the kitchen half-smiling at me, waiting to use the bathroom as he was pinned against the wall between the cook trying to wash a dish or two. As quickly as I had entered I made a mad dash. I knew I wasn't going to buy anything. I thought about giving them a dollar or two for using their bathroom, but I thought that would be more weird, and the lady who greeted me was busy.

I was very thankful for the bathroom even though I probably seemed like the biggest weirdo.

Yes, I straddled the toilet on one foot to take this picture.

Yes, I sat on the sink to take this picture.

Verdict: Not going back. Waaaay too small for comfort and I embarrassed myself with my hit-and-run, so I don't want to show my face around there again.

Lawton Backroom Bathroom

Sometimes in a town it's hard to find a bathroom. There aren't any fastfood places, and the gas stations are too... rustic looking. So I have to get creative or go back towards the highway to find some of my usual places.

In Lawton, I decided to check out the local hardware store, since it looked recently built compared to the rest of the town, so it would have to live up to more modern building codes.


So I'm walking up and down the store for this bathroom, trying to weave in and out aisles not looking suspicious and I see this:

Legit.

It didn't say "employees only" like most back doors do, so I adventured in, and tada! Bathroom.

It was kinda gross looking, not gunna lie. Like the bathroom on the side of an uncompleted man cave in the basement. It was true to the hardware store theme though, complete with random cabinet on a wooden bench/molding thing. The workmanship was good on the wood pieces. Spacious.

Verdict: If I'm ever in Lawton, I might come to this bathroom again, especially if I need something from a hardware store (since I always buy something from the place I go to the bathroom....) However, its far from the best bathroom I've seen.

Big Pipes

Look how big these pipes are! That's what's going underneath I-94 right now that required the crane.

Pipes in a row

Standing next to the row

Communicating by hand signals to the crane operator

Back filling the pipe area

Now we'll be prepared for the worse storm of the next 150 years. (Seriously, that's how engineers figure how big the pipes should be for drainage.)

Owwwies

[From Tuesday, July 16th.]
I got an injury.... Tying my shoes. It was extremely painful. Then sand got in it doing density.

Owww....  All fixed!

The occupational safety guy at the office fixed me up! Everyone was so nice to me, but definitely didn't spare a chuckle when I said I did it tying my shoes.

Counterweights

I love counterweights. I was enamored when I saw the big boom under the bridge. I stared and stared at how it was possible that such a small machine held the weight of an entire hydraulic scaffold under half the length of a bridge. It was so heavy, and yet it moved on it's own power! I wish I had pictures. It was marvelous.

Today, another awesome machine was used on site. It took probably 30 minutes just to set up, but I watched this crane travel on the highway and transform into a beautiful weight-lifting marvel.

It's lifted off of the ground. I wish I understood completely the mechanics to why it needed to be lifted off the ground. How it is possible that those four pillars are suspending it and all the weight? I kept wondering why they put down those metal squares (which, what are those made of?) and I know see it's to distribute the weight. Gahhhh does my college offer a course in just hydrallics and counterweight systems?!

I wish I had footage of the entire pipe installation process using the crane, but alas, I would be deemed weird. Some of the goodies of construction will be kept in my eyes only.

(This was taken when the boom was raised from parallel with the ground to in the air, right as the machine starts to set up.)

Too High!

Getting density on the structure backfill. Density is pretty simple, but getting to the test site sometimes isn't. Yay scaling concrete barrier walls!

I'm on top of the world!

Some of the places on the wall were low enough to haul my huge butt over, but other spots... Not so much. That's why we are engineers though.

One slip, and a face of concrete.

Climb to the top of the car and walk over!

Lots of testing.

I had to wear gloves when lifting the gauge up and over my head. Let's pray for no radiation.

McDonald's Did Something Right

McDonald's has the best bathrooms of any restaurant, consistently. They are always spacious, clean, and well maintained.

Literally today, I saw three workers from an independent consultant sanitizing the corners of the cracks of the bathroom. The two were training a new employee. Excellent.

Bridgman - Before ever setting foot in it, I could count on it being clean. My go to place to clean a wound.

Bathroom Rating:
Berrien Springs: Excellent
Bridgman: Excellent
I eat at McDonald's simply for the bathrooms.


If you've encountered a bad McDonald's bathroom, I'd love to hear about it! Write about it in the comments.

I Saw a Saw

Sights and sounds of construction.

That dust is really terrible for your lungs and he should have breathing protection. Dust is everywhere on projects.

Taken July 2nd, 2013. Saw cutting the new concrete approaches for rubber joint pouring.

Bush-whacking

Usually I never complain about the tasks of a job, since I could be doing a lot worse things, but man, this sucked. 

Before I even rant about what I did today, let's look at the weather:
Average temp: 82 F
Humidity: 88%
Feels like: 89 F

It's one of those dog days of Michigan weather, when you can't tell if it's sweat, or your body collecting moisture from the air. Sticky hot mess.

My task of the day: Measure Right-of-Way fence.
Now many of you probably have no idea what that is. I'll break it down for you. Right-of-Way is the land owned by the government on either side of a road. So yes, the land at the end of your driveway isn't yours, it's the township/city/village's. You just kindly mow it for them.

On the side of highways, the government doesn't like people (or animals) to randomly stumble through the woods (usually drunk) and start walking onto the highway, so they put up a fence. Makes sense. They also want to mark their ROW. Makes sense. But think about how often a fence way the hell on the side of I-94 is maintained. It's not. Why maintain it, it's way the hell from the road?

Next time you are driving down a highway, try to find the ROW fence. Sometimes you can't; it's covered in vegetation.

Now back to the narrative of my day: I was told to measure the ROW fence. In this weather. While it's covered in vegetation. And ticksssssssss. With a boisterous laugh, my task-giver finished his assignment with, "Make sure to bring extra tick repellant! Hahahaha."

The land of tickssss

It was awful. The total length was over 18000' (over 3.4 miles). I had to jump cross a small creek, walk in mud (more like slip-'n-slide), squeeze between the fence and trees, crawl underneath a pine tree spiky with new growth, toter on a concrete bridge drainage slope, scale a dirt hill less than a foot from 70 mph truck traffic (I got honked at twice from semis and countless swerves), climb the fence of thin wires twice, get whacked in the face with branches, and lunge over stumps, all while holding this little metal end of measuring tape and a can of spray paint.

The WORST part? Rose. Bushes. Like monster rose bushes. With thorns about two inches wide and four inches tall. FOR A MILE. (No pictures, because I wanted to get the hell outta there.)

I took some pictures of my journey, but not where it was terrible. Places with enough space to take my camera out, and where I didn't need two hands to squeeze, fight, and climb.

Finally a clearing!! Yummy hot forest.

I would have to search for these marks, stop, make sure the tape is not caught on anything within 200' of me (yeah right, it was caught almost every five minutes) and stand there until I would hear a yell in the distance or see a hand signal to find the next mark.

The tape used to measure was 200', so we would count the number of 200' places we went by making painted lines. I was in the back, thank goodness, so the guy in front cleared the way for me. I was very thankful for that. He also helped me over some of the harder parts of the task, like jumping the creek and the fences. I love working with awesome people! It made the day a lot better.

Hill! I was level with the overpass road. Look at the little cars muhahaha! (This was really scary, cars/trucks couldn't see me if I slid to the bottom into the road, super steep and slippery, don't do this children.)

Little gem at the top of the hill.

And while this was awful, I still prefer this to doing nothing. I like having purpose. It was so nastily hot. I at least sweated and worked off some weekend calories rather than sitting on my bum while sweating. Sweat was inevitable.

Going home to shower. Aww yeah.

This was super lame, but someone has to do it.


EDIT: I forgot the best part! I hardcore parkour'd today. I ran across I-94 and put my hand out, grabbed the top of the concrete barrier, and jump/swung in one fluid movement. It was totally bad ass. I hope the cars enjoyed the awesomeness they witnessed, and find a new-found respect for the MDOT worker.

Pouring Concrete

The sights of construction. Pouring concrete, first with a machine and setting it by hand. This is concrete drainage area near the new concrete median barriers.

Safety

This is an iron worker on a structure, but you get the point. It's literally like this everyday. One mistake because you are too distracted or because you've done it 1000x a day, and bam. Death.

"A paycheck don't do you any good if you're dead."

Safety matters: Proper training, proper equipment, and proper technique at all times.


Today, I almost pulled out in front of a car going 70 mph. I just wasn't paying attention. Later in the day, a car in the construction zone was going 50 mph and almost ran into me as I was standing outside of my car. He saw my car, but not me. Luckily I saw him in time, and dodged. Always be aware of your surroundings.

New Buffalo-oh oh my!

 

New Buffalo is a really ritzy, tourist town. Filled with little shops and pretty streets, it's a great place for that Illinois resident looking to dip into some pure Michigan. Now, I went to Redamak's to eat, but then I had a milkshake to go, and I felt weird taking the milkshake to the bathroom with me, so I waited until I went to the local variety store to use the restroom.

Man, it was disgusting. I can't even describe how nasty it was. If it had a reusable towel, it would fit in with the rest of the bathroom.

Let's just go on a photographic journey together:

Wha-? Why and what is dripping and crusted on the door? The DOOR?

Why is the sink dirty? Water is right there. Add soap and scrub. We are in a variety store. Soap and brushes are in aisle one.

Can we just-- I can't even.

So what have we learned? Just because you own and sell soap, doesn't mean you ever use it.

Bathroom rating: Fail. I will never go to this bathroom, or store, ever again.

Loading

The sights and sounds of construction. Remember that just moving things around to load and unload take time and special equipment. Construction takes a while, because it just has to sometimes. There's a lot more involved than people think.

Also, that woman should be wearing a helmet as per MIOSHA standards. Hardly anyone wears a helmet on this site.

Profiling

Whenever the police come around it's great. Lots of people slow down and give us plenty of space. Yet, some people, if they don't see the cop, are still speeding. But the cop doesn't stop them, they go merrily on their way. Why? It becomes obvious after a few state troopers that they aren't here for the speeding tickets, they are here for the drug busts.

Yet until like the speed gun, there is no drug gun. There is no way of telling who has drugs until you pull them over. People sometimes forget that when they hear about these great big drug busts on the news; a lot of people were pulled over to get that one drug smuggler.

A white dirt worker said it perfectly today, and it struck me in a certain profound way, especially for how politically incorrect most construction workers are:
"Damn, I wish dem cops start pulling over people speedin'. I understand they out here catchin' people carryin' drugs, but it makes me sick to watch 'em. Just last week I seen dem pull over 20 cars. But you know how they pick 'em? They pick the hippies, and the blacks. The mexcians too. I seen them take out the dogs on 'em and sniff their car all over. Almost all of them have campin' supplies with 'em. I wish they'd pull over a rich white person. Damn it ain't right. It just ain't right." 

 

This is a video of the traffic on I-94. Spoiler, they won't slow down.

Audience

Someone asked me recently, "Hey, what if your boss reads this? Wouldn't that be awful and embarrassing?"

This is a question I asked myself before starting this blog. If I want something open to all, it has to be with content for everyone. Even my boss. So no, it wouldn't be. I like working at MDOT and like the people there, I'm allowed to take pictures on the job site, and I'm not revealing any disclosed information. Honestly, I feel like he would just think I'm a dork for taking the time to write this.

General Advice: If ever you think you would feel ashamed by something you post on the internet, you probably shouldn't post it. (I'd hope that I have that kind of prudence.)

Being a Woman: The Vibrator

This might contain adult content.

When I was at college, knowing that I would be an inspector, I tried to find other people who've done this job in their region, and ask them questions or ask for advice. Sure, the people at my office would be helpful, but sometimes there are things that you can only learn from another peer.

In my quest to find another inspector, I lucked out and found not only an inspector from a region similar to my own in traffic counts and road types, but she was a woman. I asked away. She gave me the normal advice like most people I had talked to, but then when we got on the subject of gender-difference and how that effects your interactions with the contractor, she said something like the following (it's been a while so maybe I'm adding to it a bit):

-They will "give you shit" (That's what we all call teasing on the field. It's different than normal teasing, but I can't explain how.), just go with it
-They already don't respect you because you are young and have no experience, so remember that if you have problems
-Lift things and don't be lazy, don't expect anyone to do anything for you if you want to be treated equal
-BUT never be afraid to ask for help when you need it (Truth: it's better to ask dignified than to embarrassingly struggle and maybe get hurt)
-It's one thing for the contractor not to respect you, but if the MDOT inspector gives you problems, don't put up with it, and tell a supervisor right away
-Don't be nervous, just be confident and make sure they do what you say at the end of the day


Then the weirdest thing she said after she was racking her brain for anymore advice was this:
"Oh! *laughs* There's this thing they use for concrete and it looks like a dildo. I'm not sure what the official title of it is, but, yeah, yeah you'll see what I mean. The contractor never openly used it to make fun of me, because the other inspector was always there for concrete pouring, but they would have if he wasn't there, so just be aware of that."

So yeah. This is what she was talking about:

It's the thing in the middle of the picture, straight up and down in the concrete. It vibrates. The purpose of this is to vibrate the concrete so it gets into all of the corners and around the rebar and whatnot. The second it touches the concrete, it just sort of.... relaxes?? It's all tense and rigid with aggregate sticking up, and then all of a sudden it just... liquids with no aggregate on top.

I wanted to know WHAT this could possibly be called, and it's..... a vibrator. 

There is a whole page about the vibrator. It makes sense, but it's just like... teehee.

I probably wouldn't be so middle-school about this if that other student inspector didn't mention it. Now I'm paranoid for the day they make some sexual joke about it to me. I keep trying to think of a good comeback, but mine are all lame and don't make any sense.

Budweiser Truck

Whenever a budweiser truck would drive by on the highway, the truckdriver would honk and wave and the construction workers would cheer and raise fists in the air, then go immediately back to work.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/navymailman/

Bathroom Review: Sodus Towel-hall

There are a few rules when it comes to sorting the good bathrooms from the bad bathrooms. One of those rules are towels.

It doesn't matter how much you scrub your hands if you rub them in a germ-infested towel right afterward. That's why there are paper towels, hand-dryers, ect. Well this happened:

Yes, that is a cotton towel in a public bathroom. A public bathroom in a public building. The Sodus Townhall. We were working on an overlay in the Sodus township and the townhall was the only building open in the area open to the public.

There is so much wrong with this. The towel wasn't fresh-looking or clean. I have no idea who's touched it or how long it's been there. I ended up having to wipe my hands on toilet paper since my pants were covered in pollen and seeds from all the stuff in the bushes.

The bathroom was also oddly huge. It was about the size of a bathroom that would have two stalls, but it's like they decided that they didn't need that much of a plumbing bill.

Anyway here's the breakdown:
Pros: Only bathroom around, friendly receptionist lady, running water, natural light from window (oh yeah, there was a window that was normal-sized, is that okay???)
Cons: A dirty towel, must talk to someone to get to it, must grab handle of the door to open it, and yellow water when you flushed so the bowl was stained yellow

Good Bathroom? No.

(Visited June 26th, 2013)

Joys of the River

Sights and sounds of construction.

Working on the river is great. Cool, breezy, beautiful.

Taken June 5, 2013. Quartz aggregate being removed by a CAT941 after first coat of a thin epoxy application.

4th of July!

Happy Independence Day 'Merica.

While there are tons of traditions that go along with this day, the one that impacts the economy the most is people taking the day off from work and traveling.

Did you know Michigan stops as much construction as possible for the 4th of July weekend? Not a single contractor is working this Friday on state jobs. (In Berrien anyway.)
Check it out: http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-51034-195267--,00.html

BUT HEY! They didn't open ALL of the closures. What gives?! Traffic closures that are remaining to be closed, well, let's just look at them:

- I-94, Berrien County, will have two lanes open in each direction from Sawyer to Bridgman. Okay, yeah this is 6 miles of new pavement, new drainage, and $15 million of other stuff. You can't just finish this up and open it to traffic. Those FIP don't need anymore lanes anyway.
- US-12, Berrien County, will have one lane open in each direction from Mayflower Road to M-139, between Buchanan and Niles. They haven't finished putting in a lane yet. And all of the cross-overs need to be paved. Yeah no.
- US-12 in New Buffalo, Berrien County, will have one lane open in each direction at the I-94 interchange. One lane will be open over the Galien River bridge east of Hoder Road. This is a reconstruct. Like all the concrete has been pulled out and they are doin' it over. That's a hellaton of work. There's nothing to open the traffic to. They can't have you drive on nothingness.

So they really did stop all construction that could be stopped. 



If you are traveling across the state, I recommend looking at the MiDrive map. Not only does it show construction projects currently up, but also accidents and the speed of the cars on the highway. This technology is starting to be used throughout the state more and more, with dynamic message boards going up on I-94. These board will tell you how long it will take to get to Detroit or other cities, as well as any other important information to our drivers. Pretty cool!
Check it out: http://mdotnetpublic.state.mi.us/drive/

MiDrive interface

Rolling Epoxy

Sights and sounds of construction.

Watching them roll epoxy on the overpass deck on a windy day.

(From 6/28/2013)

Ticks

Source: http://www.mainelyme.org/

Ticks. Ticks are the ban of my existence. Three were on my today. I lost count of my ticks in order to maintain sanity. They are the most vile of insects. Blood-sucking, six-legged, disease-carrying drudgeries of the planet. As the truck driver put it, "Mosquitoes and ticks, I tell ya. Nature's vampires."

One day, I was working with a laborer who was.... unaccustomed to working with a young woman as an inspector and he was trying to frighten/gross me out with typical things that would scare young women. I had a bug on me, and one of the laborers got it off. Nonplussed, I thanked them.

"You ain't scared?"
"As long as it's not a tick."
"Oh ticks are nothing, I seen real big spiders round here. This big! Creeping and crawlin-"
"But ticks are densely populated in this area. They latch on."
"Pshh ticks! I've seen rats coming out of the sewer that can nibble on your--"
"Ticks latch on after crawling anywhere on your body, then start sucking your blood until they fill up like a balloon and waddle away. You find one, and try to take it out, it's head becomes dislodged in your skin. Sometimes only removal by surgery."
"Snakes!!! There are poisonous snakes in this area that you have to watch out for. They slither around in the grass. Just a few years ago, me and Jim were poking one in the grass and it coulda jumped and snapped---"
"Ticks carry LYME'S disease. That means with one bite you are looking at flu-like symptoms, joint pain, future heart problems, ect. The tick population is the record high in this area this year, and tons of the ticks carry lyme's disease. Snake? They don't have lyme's disease. And there aren't like 4 that crawl up and down you a day. The only way to prevent tick bites is checking over yourself throughout the day, wearing tight clothing, and spraying tons of deet."
"Oh wow, yeah, I better get some deet..."

After my first day of ticks, I thoroughly researched it and did this PSA whenever new laborers came on site and didn't freak out when someone had a tick on them, which was every often. The more you know~

Ticks and distracted drivers. Nothing in this world is more terrifying on a construction site.



For more information on ticks, check out these sources! 
 http://www.michiganradio.org/post/theres-tick-boom-michigan-here-are-5-things-you-should-know
 http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/

Saying Goodbye

Written 7/3/13

The skill most improved from working in Construction is teamwork. Think about it, you work with people from all around for maybe a day or two, or maybe a month, with little to no introduction. Then for that period of time you work under the hot sun doing manual labor under a strict timeline in life-threatening situations, relying hand-in-hand with the workmanship and timeline of others. Oh yeah, and the thing you're working on is worth millions of dollars. No pressure.

And though it's so stressful, everyone is really great. They are cooperative, friendly, and don't hold grudges. Stuff happens. Be mad about it for like a day, then come back tomorrow ready to go.

Some of you are waiting for the punch line. But no punch line, no psych, I'm serious. People are really cool. If you've had bad team experiences, reflect on how you interacted in the dynamic. People, for the most part, are great and want the goal as badly as you do. People are cool.


So cool in fact, that it's sad to say goodbye. Parting is as quick as introductions. It's really special when someone takes the time to say goodbye in the field. But then, that's that awkward moment when you want to make sure you say goodbye, but you might see the person again, so you wait. And wait. Then you waited too long and they are gone forever.

There were three goodbyes that were memorable from this project. (oh yeah, the project ended today... I told you this blog was late in the game.)





So I'm standing there at the end of the day with my density gauge, tired after three days of nuclear density testing and being almost hospitalized three days before, and the foreman comes up to me and says, "Well, it's been a nice rodeo... Thanks kiddo, you're pretty cool."

I had no idea what he was saying. Just earlier in the day he was taking about visiting places in da UP and checking out the Notre Dame Basilica, and now he was taking about rodeos, and I was like, "Yeah, today was fun... See ya Monday. Have a nice weekend."

And the foreman kinda looked sad, and said, "No, I have another project. This guys taking over."

And then I was so tired and confused and sad that I just stood there. Sounds dumb I know, but I just didn't know what to say. We stood in silence for a while, the he talked to the operator-turned-foreman, and then got in his truck and left for forever.

I wanted to tell him how much I enjoyed working with him, that I'd love to check out the places he recommended, to tell him to say hi to his daughter, to ask him for advice about construction or words of wisdom. But nope. I just stood there. And now he's gone.



The second goodbye was a little more resolved. Ever since the first one, I planned it out: what I'd say, what I'd ask. I wasn't just going to stand dumbfounded. But then it happened. The project had a week left and the foreman, the first person I ever met on my first job site, came up to my truck while I was calculating a pay item. "Well, I'm heading out. Nice working with you." And he extended his hand. Again, I was like, "Okay, see you tomorrow," and didn't see the hand extended. He explained he had a job in Flint and that one guy is taking over (same guy taking over as before). And this was my moment! My moment to do my planned goodbye. But nope. We talked about pay items and then silence. I didn’t say anything sentimental or anything to show how much I enjoyed working with such a kind, agreeable person. He had told me tons about his family. I knew how his wife and him met (I'll tell you that story later, it's cute) and about his Catholic faith and about brother's farm and everything. He knew about my brother and about my friend in New York and my family and my fishing experience and tons about my Catholic faith (if some of you could believe that...). And then when we parted, nothing. Nothing but a handshake and a nod goodbye with a few minutes of silence.


Today I had to call him. Call the foreman back. I had a second chance. But knowing me, again I only talked about the pay item, and then bam. I just said goodbye and ended the phone call. He was actually trying to prolong the conversation, but I was like a robot. No fluff or what I wanted to say. Just business. Gaaaaah. I hope he can just read my mind.




Today was the third goodbye. Sure, I saw over 30 laborers in and out the last two months between all the subcontractors and what not, but I almost never said goodbye. They themselves didn't even know when they would be leaving for a day, or for good. But today, I said goodbye to a laborer because we knew it was the end. It was great. No pressure. Joyful, walking away with laughter talking about the project. I didn't know him very personally, but he was the second person I met on the site, so I'd seen his face everyday. I wish every goodbye could be like that, but you know, some people just hit you harder than others.

Bathroom Review: Child Rollercoaster

Berrien Springs Public Library

I need to use the bathroom. It's inevitable. But I hate to just use a bathroom at a gas station/restaurant/store over and over. Especially without buying something from them. 

But somedays you need to go to the bathroom three or four times, and your wallet doesn't want to buy candy four times from a gas station, so I go to a cheaper bathroom. That's where the public buildings come into play. 

Recently, I went to the Berrien Springs public library bathroom. It's very nice and very clean. Interestingly enough, it is under lock and key. The entire thing. All 3 stalls, table, two sinks. It's been this way for almost 10 years. Must get a key from the front desk. 

I don't think this is a proper key chain....

The best part of this bathroom though is the child rollercoaster seat (pictured above). Why is there a harness on the wall? Does anyone really take the time to strap in their child before taking a dump? The worst part, is that the child is directly facing you on the toilet. Talk about pressure. Well, I WOULD feel pressured. You have an involuntary audience on the wall directly in-front of you. But I suppose that's better than your child running up and down the bathroom, crawling under strangers and streaming toilet paper all around.

By far, this is my favorite bathroom in Berrien Springs.
Pros: Nice and quiet. Clean. Has paper towels. Has mirror. Doesn't cost me a thing.
Cons: Must talk to front desk to get key.

Don't forget to strap those infants in!

Rainy Day

The sights and sounds of construction.

When it rains, it pours. The mud sucks your steel toes down into the muck. Tires bigger than you slip and slide with grinding motors into the slippery abyss. But most of all, it's cold, wet, and no one wants to work.

Sitting and waiting for it to finish and work to resume.

Nature's Call

Panera, St. Joseph

Bathrooms of Berrien.
The sights, sounds, and smells of a woman in construction.

I didn't want to write a blog at first. Blogs are so impersonal and open to any audience. But after the bewailing of my family to write my crazy stories down, with pictures, I decided to cave in.

You see, I work in construction. I am also a woman. I'm also blonde. Now, I'm no feminist, but being a male-dominated field for a while, some things are hard to change for the 21st century. Though, they aren't the things you'd think of right away. Let me tell you a story.

My first week of work, I was ready. I was ready to not take any of the shit they'll give me, I'll have a air that demands respect, and I'll be confident. Confidence is key. And.... it worked! They called me boss and listened to everything I said. It was waaay too easy. My friend always warned me, "Hey, they're going to try to lure you away, you know, like get you to look at something else or tell you to take lunch or something. Don't let them. Make sure you watch them like an eagle. The more they tell you to look away, the more you should watch them."

So one day Marc turned to me and said, "Uhhhhh look that way for a little bit. Like over the river or something, just not back there."  I grinned and said "Why? Doing something you shouldn't be?" and I turn to see a guy ready to unzip his fly to pee on the side of the road. "Oh."

And that's when the division of sexes became apparent. Sure there are port-a-potties on site, but no one uses them. Literally no one. They have been sitting there since the beginning of the project and maybe their good in the first week, but I'm not going in there. My rump has to touch that thing. Call me a princess, but I'd rather drive miles to a bathroom than use that thing.

That's what I do. Drive to the closest bathroom. And throughout the Berrien County area, I've stumbled upon some.... interesting bathrooms. I hope to share these interesting bathrooms with you as I continue my construction employment for the next 2 months.

Enjoy!