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I guess I'm working too hard?
pietro75
Member Posts: 7,048 ✭
I hired a new laborer last Fri. for the paver job I am doing right now. All of my men are doing different projects right now and this paver driveway is ready and on rush. So This guy is 21 years old and athletic. He requests 15 an hour and I agree.
He works w/ me on fri. and does well. He is respectful and energetic. He needs some dough for the weekend so I flip him a frogskin($100) and tell him be safe and I'll see ya' Mon. @ 6:45.
Mon. comes he is there before me, I am pretty excited thinking this young man is going to work out( Laborers and mason tenders come and go like a breeze). Mon. afternoon and we are stocking pavers and I can tell he is dragging. I understand a bit cause he is new and we did just move 48,000 lbs. of pavers.
Tues. morn. I get a call @5:30am kid says he is so sore he can't get out of bed. His dad calls me back and says he tried to make him but he won't go( still lives at home I see). I told his dad I hope he don't sit around your house playin' video games all day marinading your couch and eating all your food, good luck!
I says holy crap you're killin' me man, I wore out a 21yr old?
maybe I should stop working so hard[B)]
I told him get some rest I guess and come back in Thurs. Thursday no show no call[V] I just don't get it. Needless to say I still got in 2,800 sq.ft. of pavers so far this week stocking and laying.
I will admit that I am starting to tire a bit, but, daddy's gotta pay the rent and the show must go on!
I thank God for the men and women that raised me! I also thank God for the men that are my loyal company men. W/O them there would be NO Tacconelli Masonry!
OK my rant is over I feel better...Thanks all!
Update: he just called and wants to meet up tommorrow for the money I owe him for Mon.[:o)]
He works w/ me on fri. and does well. He is respectful and energetic. He needs some dough for the weekend so I flip him a frogskin($100) and tell him be safe and I'll see ya' Mon. @ 6:45.
Mon. comes he is there before me, I am pretty excited thinking this young man is going to work out( Laborers and mason tenders come and go like a breeze). Mon. afternoon and we are stocking pavers and I can tell he is dragging. I understand a bit cause he is new and we did just move 48,000 lbs. of pavers.
Tues. morn. I get a call @5:30am kid says he is so sore he can't get out of bed. His dad calls me back and says he tried to make him but he won't go( still lives at home I see). I told his dad I hope he don't sit around your house playin' video games all day marinading your couch and eating all your food, good luck!
I says holy crap you're killin' me man, I wore out a 21yr old?
maybe I should stop working so hard[B)]
I told him get some rest I guess and come back in Thurs. Thursday no show no call[V] I just don't get it. Needless to say I still got in 2,800 sq.ft. of pavers so far this week stocking and laying.
I will admit that I am starting to tire a bit, but, daddy's gotta pay the rent and the show must go on!
I thank God for the men and women that raised me! I also thank God for the men that are my loyal company men. W/O them there would be NO Tacconelli Masonry!
OK my rant is over I feel better...Thanks all!
Update: he just called and wants to meet up tommorrow for the money I owe him for Mon.[:o)]
Comments
I had a 22 year old helping me put up some double 100 chain, after 2 hours in 110 degrees, all he could do is stand there and sweat.
He went home the next day.
Margaret Thatcher
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
Mark Twain
had one vanish while SUPPOSEDLY helpin set set some 4x4 steel tube supports
he skinned a knuckle and was so injured he went home!?
3 of them one day trying to unload a new electric motor and not making progress... i went over and lifted it off the truck onto hand truck and told them to get lost
problem is after all the major injuries i pay for it later
like the song says...
"my body says you cant do this boy, my pride says oh yes i can!"
Hired 3 younger woman to do drop off service, all came in late, took turns not showing, and tried to close early a few times. 2 told me that welfare doesnt make them sweat. I told em Welfare has a phone and I would be calling them to let them know.
May not work the fastest, but I do not stop.
I am 39 and at 20 had men twice my age damn near kill me, or so I thought. Now I am the old man, and I can near kill the ones that are 20. The younger generations are getting softer and softer, and we are not getting any younger. The mere idea of a work ethic scares them now, rather than the idea of work that scared me at their age. So now like I told the wife a few days ago, "if I had worked this hard, at that age...we would be somewhere". But I didnt so here we are, and there I go, back to work....eventually a work ethic will catch up to them assuming they want anything out of life, glad I finally chose to have something better, for the rest....well darwin will sort them out.
speedbuggy16v
The people in their 20's that I know go out several times a week....have plans for every event that comes to town....every holiday that comes around is a reason to have a party....even get together for certain TV events. I don't see how they have gas money...much less any funds to pay any bills or HAVE anything.
Was laid off in Nov. Noticed I was starting to have a hard time getting around and had really put on some weight. End of March the Local YMCA was giving a 3 months free membership. If you were laid off. Well I took myself right down and signed up.
They set me up with a routine 3 times a week. Sincethen only missed one day. Last Sat. Went on a PGR Funeral Mission and got way too much sun. Peeling now.
Today went in and extended my membership past the 3 months. Will start with a 5 day a week program next week. Have not dropped any weight, but do have muscles that are showing better definition.
speedbuggy16v
I've completely given up hope on anything under 30 years old.....(except for you Jacob.) I hear WAY too many "last night" stories during the middle of the week from a certain age group. Do they not understand that getting together with a bunch of friends and playing around is something you rarely do if you care about your responsibilities? I'm all for having fun.....but what happened to working...taking care of your home and family....and when you think you are going to loose your mind going out and having a BIG time with people?
The people in their 20's that I know go out several times a week....have plans for every event that comes to town....every holiday that comes around is a reason to have a party....even get together for certain TV events. I don't see how they have gas money...much less any funds to pay any bills or HAVE anything.
I used to do work that needed done before it even needed done. Since I hurt my foot and my back is jacked up, I still do it, but I do take a break in the middle. I normally cut grass before lunch, eat lunch, finish... Gives me a break without wasting time. I LOVE to be outside, and do manual labor, but looks like im not gonna be doing much of that. I still REFUSE to EVER be put on disability or government funding of any kind, unless I paid into it to receive when I was older, or am in a wheelchair with NO way to do anything. I could not sit around being a lazyazz taking money from the government that others have to work and pay hard earned money into, and still be able to do something. If I still have thumbs, wheelchair or not, I can make money.
I did the same thing, while I was still able...I have yet to see a young man who could keep pace with me...and I'd venture to say that, that would still be the case today...only difference is, we both would not be able to walk the next day. My body is shutting down, but my mind has a mind of it's own...I pay for it afterwards.
Hang in there Eric! we got alot to talk about!
I am down to the narrow run up the drive now so things are going to be smooth from here on out. I just don't understand...this kid is broke and wants a job now he has one and can't come to work. WTH?
the refusal to take him up on the offer is only the tip of the iceberg. the reality is no one MAKES him get up and do things. I got soft in my teens, but when I was young, it was not a question of if I would do it, it was a question of how bad of a beating I would get if I didnt do it RIGHT NOW. The lack of parenting, and the inability to do such without government intrusion was just the start of the mess. Dont get me wrong, no one should out and out beat a child, but a good lesson in honor thy mother and father seems to be in order for a lot of todays youth...didnt hurt me any in the long run.
speedbuggy16v
I hear ya' spare the rod..spoil the child.
speedbuggy16v
great outlook jacob, I tried to raise mine to be like you, we will see how they turn out. But it sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders, and are willing to "put your back into it". Just dont * yourself if the process either, like you said as long as you have thumbs..well you have a brain to, keep with school, work it instead if you can, not all good honest work comes from sweat.
speedbuggy16v
Im already dang near crippled at the ripe old age of 16 1/2.. Nearing 17. My dad goes to work every day with a broken back- He cant feel one whole side of his body from his waist up, then the upper half just hurts like hell. Still rides the tractor every day and never complains. Something is fused together in his back. I think its vertebrae.. that is a result of work also. The only thing he got was workers comp. and I think unemployment.. He could easily walk into any doctor, say he needs tested for disability and walk out with disability checks any month. Few years to retire. I cant STAND knowing someone else has to pay my way the rest of my life. I have been raised good. I am no where near perfect, I am still stupid at times, but everyone makes mistakes
I am telling ya, I am paying for the wife to go, and once thats done its back to school for me too. get your diploma, then keep going. if your half as smart as you seem from the idea of self reliance, and drive. Get your butt to college, between grants and loans anyone can do it, hell obamah says so!, LOL
get an education, and work that noodle, leave the heavy lifting to your classmates that cant get their heads around the concept.
take care
gotta go to bed two hours ago
I have a back to break in the AM
speedbuggy16v
I could be a lawyer, I kick butt at arguing and convincing people im right [:D][:D]
If you are not used to physical labor it's gonna "hurt" for a while. What they don't realize is that if you work through the pain in a day or so you will really start to feel good.
how true, the burn of useing your whole body WORKING!
and it is a different "strength" than any of the gym types will ever get
no weight machine can come close to picking rock, pitching bales, chopping/stacking wood... it takes the whole body working smoothly
after all the busting up and remove/repair on this body it is a rare morning i wake up without pain somewhere, but after being told i would never walk, then that i would never lift more than a few pounds, and later another round that they said i would never walk un-assisted again... i still love just getting up and going
i cant understand how these kids rush through every task so they can sit on their butts?
i actually feel better/less pain when i stay moveing, plus the time goes a lot quicker