Critical Period at the Plant

This past week and this coming week is a period during our work at the plant that is very critical to be done quickly. That is because when you have to shut down any part of the production line, either the company loses money because they don't produce, or they lose money because people have to do the jobs of machines - thus, more cost.

the plant here is a large one. My feet and legs were pretty sore after day one of walking around, and out of curiosity I picked up a pedometer at the dollar store, and began counting steps. I paced myself on a treadmill, and discovered I walk 1900 steps in a mile.

Wearing the pedometer, I've been walking about 11,000-13,000 steps per day. this equates to about 6 miles of just walking around the plant. When I add a 3 mile run (where 1500 steps = 1 mile), I walk about a total of 18,000 steps in a day at the plant and a workout. Crazy.

Meanwhile, it is Sunday, and I'm in Augusta. I am a little upset because I was required to stay here over the weekend to work, and as it turns out, I just have to be on call- not at the plant. which is nice because I didn't have to wake up at 5:30 yesterday or today, but really sucks because I also couldn't go home to Atlanta for the weekend, and unless I actually get called in, there is not "billable time" to charge for me staying here this weekend. suck. so I am stuck in my hotel room for the weekend, trying to kill time.

I hung out with my friend Leah that lives here on Friday night, and we went to shul yesterday. But other than that, killing time has been going to the mall, watching a LOT of TV, attempting to start on my taxes without any of my paperwork here, and um...that's about it. I am only a little bit frustrated.

anyway, I think I'll kill a couple hours by going to the Gym today, and think about what else I can do to pass time.

On- Site

I have been on-site at the plant for a week now. I’ll be here for another 5 or so guaranteed, maybe more. I like being on-site, I like the people here at this plant, but I hate being on my feet on concrete for 9-11 hours all day. The only time we get to sit is when we’re back in the trailer, checking email or reviewing a drawing, etc. I have gone around town looking for a gym to work out in, and have tried two out. The second one is way nicer, but of course more expensive. Luckily though, when our company puts us on the road, they take care of our expenses, including a gym membership if we want. So I will probably join this week. One of the guys that works at the plant teaches a kickboxing class a few times a week in Aiken (about 15 miles from the plant in the opposite direction), so I may try that out tomorrow if I get out of here in time. By the time I work out and get dinner, there really isn’t much time to do anything. I don’t like having to eat out every meal, but it sure does bring variety – although not the best in the way of nutrition. There are a ton of people here between the two projects going on. I saw at least 12 today from our company. I am certainly learning a lot in the field though. Things come a lot faster when you are experiencing them rather than when you talk about them in meetings.

In all the construction areas, we have to wear steel toe shoes, safety glasses, hardhats, and in many of the production areas – hairnets. The technical term is PPE – personal protective equipment. When you’re doing other things, you have to add to the PPE. For example – a harness if you’re going up in a lift. A jumpsuit and gloves and faceshield for certain electrical work. Here is a picture of me in Electrical PPE. Compliments to Robin for the picture and for forcing me to wear it even though I was the only non-electrical engineer in the group.

Marine Wedding

This past weekend, I attended the wedding of one of Josh’s buddies from the Marines. It was a nice wedding, in the really small town of Florence, Alabama. Because it was a military wedding, there was a sword arch – or as some call it the “arch of sabers”. This is done after the bride and groom are announced as married, and they are exiting the ceremony. The marines in the sword arch are friends of the groom (similar to groomsmen), and 6-8 of them will form two lines facing each other, and bring their swords to an arch. The couple walks under the arch, and just before they pass the last pair of marines, the marines lower their swords and say “kiss to pass”. The couple has to kiss, and then the swords are raised so they can pass. One of the last marines will also lightly take his sword, and tap the bride on the backside, and welcomes her to the Marine Corps. The friends of the groom (and josh) were all very nice, and it was fun hanging out with them for a couple days. The drive from Augusta to Florence and back was not great though. 450 miles each way. Yuk!

No Orchestra??

I left you hanging! it's been like, 3 weeks, and I haven't given you anything! I went today to the Atlanta Ballet's show of The Great Gatsby at the Fox. I love the Fox theatre. I have probably seen at least 20 shows there. The best, is when you can get a ticket for $15 for a low selling show!

On the opposite note, I was disappointed to see that there was no live orchestra at the show. As of last year, the Atlanta Ballet did not renew the contract of the orchestra for the upcoming season. The prerecorded music not only lacked the obvious brilliance of having a live orchestra, but the quality of the music, sound system, or both made the ballet hard to listen to. If they're having problems with money for the ballet, they're going to have more problems with no live orchestra.