KRUG

basically i bought my first tool box! the job i have now requires me to use tools that i don’t own. i have been able to borrow tools from people i work with or use the shop’s equipment for the most part while i accumulate my own collection. while i still don’t have very many, the number is growing and i was running out of places to put them.

the one i got is a kobalt brand from lowes and is really nice. it is definitely solidly built. it has 11 drawers with padding to keep tools from sliding around. it has a built in power strip and heavy duty casters for mobility. the entire thing is stainless steel. there is a half inch recess on the top that currently has a black foam pad in it but i plan on using some artistic flairs to dress that part up real nice.

all in all i am very pleased. there are more pictures at my flickr site.

i love my job.

i’ve already given the background on how i got my job so in this post i’ll tell you a little bit about what i do.

an overview of the business is that we build models, miniature scale and full scale trainers, and conceptualize designs.  everything is done in house pretty much.  we have a machine shop with every piece of metal cutting machinery known to man.  in what we call the “high bay” there is a welding section with more gas cylinders than i have had time to count, a sealed and vented paintbooth, a woodworking section for building our own custom shipping crates, and room to build massive, full scale models and trainers.  right now there is an f-22 sitting in there which is being built as a fuel system trainer for the air force.  i work in the low bay (a.k.a. model shop) which is where we do all of our miniature modeling.  i work in there with 3 other guys: fred, john, and mark. we have access to every shape and size of acrylic made, a laser cutting machine, a 3-d printer (not kidding…it prints in plastic), and an assortment of pre-purchased stairs, fences, mall paneling and the like.

we get jobs by bidding on them.  for instance, an oil company may want to propose a new oil rig to be built and they want a detailed scaled model to increase hype or something.  we will bid based on man hours that it takes to finish the job including design, build, and finishing.  so we may allocate 100 hours to build this project.  the less time they give us, the less detail that goes into the model and the less it costs the client.

i went in on monday and basically got shown around the shop again.  i met the guys in the model shop that i would be working with and got shown to my desk.  it was covered with junk (including two microwaves that don’t work) and dust.  anybody who knows me knows that i cannot do any kind of work in a cluttered or dirty setting. so i was in the middle of cleaning it when the vice president of the company walks up to me and starts telling me about the two laser cutting machines that the company owns and how one of them is not working.  he continued by saying that he believes it is the tube that is messed up and has found one on ebay that he thinks may work.  to confirm this, he wants me to take apart this machine and compare the tube in hand to the one on ebay.  this caused me to spend 4 hours taking apart a high powered laser.  muchos fun indeed. 

it turns out that they didn’t match and the machine is actually just an outdated piece of junk now.  after lunch, i put it back together and then bugged the guys to let me put some stuff together.  i did get to glue one item together but the hard work had already been done which is actually building the pieces.  i also got a crash course in autocad from fred.

fred is the oldest of the three guys in the model shop.  i think he is the quietest and easiest to upset.  he pretty much is the only one who runs autocad and the laser machine because he has been doing it the longest and is pretty quick at it.

on tuesday i actually started learning how they do things as far as building is concerned.  i kind of latched onto john that morning.  he has been doing scale modeling for about 20 years and he is incredible.  i’ve seen his portfolio.  unreal.  he told me that he sees me as his retirement.  so he pretty much let me follow him around the entire day and watch how he did his work, what decisions he was faced with, and why he went with whatever course of action he chose.

on wednesday is when i actually started working on things.  i was given a small pulley system to build with the help of john.  we pretty much spent all day wednesday building these things.  i didn’t do a whole lot of the work myself but i did get my hands into it some.  i wound up lasercutting some things myself by designing the pieces in autocad and melting plastic a few times (i was told when i started on monday that if i’m not messing things up, then i’m not working.  they expect me to make mistakes in other words).  but i got the hang of it and turned out some pretty nice pieces.

on thursday, i was given another pulley system and told to build it.  so i spent thursday and friday designing and building it.  it took me two days when really, john could have finished it in about 4-6 hours.  but the exciting thing is that i designed, manufactured, and built the entire thing myself.  i did get his input and approval at certain steps but he never touched the thing except to examine it.

and that’s pretty much my job.  i actually laughed out loud on tuesday when i was glueing something together because i couldn’t believe i was getting paid to do something i would do for free at home at 3 in the morning when i should be sleeping.

i really believe that this is my career choice.  i have retirement plans, insurance, paid holidays, and room to grow in salary.  apparently there is way more money to be made in this field than i thought when i was looking into it.  john didn’t tell me how much he makes but he made sure i knew he does very well.  there is also job security because there aren’t that many young people looking to join this field.  but on top of all of that, it is fun for me.  i get excited about the idea of designing and building miniatures and then being able to learn anything else at the shop that i want.

this is absolutely a dream come true for me.  i couldn’t be happier right now.

good news first.

i got the job i described in the previous post.  i’ll be starting on the 15th and i am extremely excited.  i’m going to be making more, doing what i enjoy, and learning a lot about interesting fields.

but the bad news seems to have more drama and seems to stick with me longer so my excitement about the job is overshadowed and belittled.

i am extremely frustrated with my friends out here.  i have been doing what i know to do to make friends and build relationships but it seems that nobody is taking the time to really get to know me.  i feel like everyone is making snap judgements and not giving me a chance to explain my decisions or even my faults.  and i can’t seem to get people to talk about why they keep doing this.  i can understand them having a problem to an extent.  but the way i deal with mine is to discuss them with the people that are involved.  i like to talk things out and come to an agreement or a middle ground of realization.  here, they just ignore me and i have to fight my way back in.

it’s getting to the point that i don’t even want to try anymore.  that if they can’t open their eyes to who i am or even forgive me for mistakes, then i would be better off not worrying about it.

and it’s not everyone out here.  actually it’s almost no one but at this moment it feels way bigger than that.

i may get to go see rissa sometime in the near future and she’ll be able to make me feel better.  i hope it works out because i’m already looking forward to it.

i went in for an interview this past wednesday. i sat down and talked to greg (not sure of his position but apparently he does some hiring and his opinion is a heavy one) and then he walked me around the shop.

i have no doubts that this job was created with me in mind. i would thrive in an environment like that. it turns out that they do all kinds of stuff including, but not limited to, welding, wood working, auto body painting, metal machining, sculpting, programming, 3-D computer design, modeling, engineering, and laser cutting. the best part is, i could learn to do all of those things if i wanted to!

i would be hired for my skills in modeling, computer software, and math long with my creativity and affinity for learning and trying new things but if i were interested, which i definitely am, i could be trained to do any or all of the above jobs mentioned. on top of it, they would pay me to train and after learning the skill and becoming good enough at it to be used for projects in that area, i would be deemed more valuable and therefor, get a raise.

so all in all, i will be in a dynamic environment, learning all kinds of new ways to express myself and getting paid to do all of it.

as you can see i am excited and i haven’t even been hired yet. the good news is that they seemed excited about me as well. greg kept telling me that he always looks for young, aggressive guys to hire. i am young and i was aggressive enough to seek him out for a week solid and push myself into an interview. he also mentioned that he has a hard time finding people who are analytical and creative at the same time and know how to balance the two out. yeah i know, that’s me!

i really feel confident that i’m going to have a position there in the near future. i was told that i will know by the 5th of october. i don’t think that not getting the job right now will set me back at all though. the only thing it will do is give me time to learn some things they could use. i live with people who have a wealth of knowledge about carpentry, welding, CAD software and so on.

the greatest thing about all of this is that i am getting to pursue a dream of mine. it’s not a feeling i get very often. in fact, i have belittled myself for not having any real goals or dreams. college for me has just been 5 years of drifting with no real purpose or final place in mind. i have always had ideas of where i thought i might end up but nothing that really got my blood boiling. i enjoy math and am good at it but i think i have found my true passion.

we’ll see how it all turns out. i’ve got an entire life to live and i am in no hurry to finish it up. this may not be my final position in life but i’m sure going to test the door and see where it takes me.

by the way, if you’re at all curious as to what this company does, check out their site. they have tons of pictures in the galaxy. almost too many but it gives a good idea of some of the things they’ve done in the past. there is also a pretty decent video that summarizes the company that you can download and view.

on a complete side note,…I LOVE MOZILLA FIREFOX (or foxfire as debye so lovingly calls it)!! this last paragraph is being written after my computer crashed (grumbling at windows). there was no way i was going to retype everything previous to this even though i really wanted to say it all. anybody who has used firefox and had it suddenly die knows that is has a “restore session” option when you start it back up. yeah, it saved the entire UNSAVED blog even after a complete system reboot. kudos to mitchell baker, brenden eich and the rest of the mozilla team!

so anybody who really knows me (or knows me even at all) knows that i like creative things.  i usually express that by creating what i call weird art.  this includes my text pictures, ambigrams, warhammer, and styrofoam scenery.  after watching the making of the lord of the rings i realized what my dream job would be.  to make miniature, scale models.  i never pursued it as a career because i didn’t think it was something i could actually do for a living.  i know that there are people who do but i thought they were all from art academies and i knew i couldn’t go that route.

the other day my brother in law mentioned that i should at least look into it.  so i did.  i did a little bit of research and found a company in the local area that builds scale models and training equipment for various clients.  i went to their website and got extremely interested in checking it out.

i wound up calling them on this past monday and played phone tag with a guy named greg until today.  i finally got to talk with him on the phone and told him all about what i do as a hobby and what i am good at already.  he seemed really intrigued and mentioned that the modeling department is a really hard position to fill because you can’t exactly recruit people out of college.

and that was pretty much where the conversation ended.  i sent him my contact information with a brief synopsis of my strengths and i expect to hear from him soon.  i imagine that i’ll at least get to go over to the shop and talk with some people.

i’m really excited about this though.  i’m trying not to get too thrilled in case it doesn’t work out but this would be awesome! 

i got a new job.  i work for a company called gateway supply inc.  we are a procurement company.  the basis of what we do is supply our clients with the materials they need.  our main client right now is a mine in africa that has troubles when trying to get materials for their mine site.  it is a huge company and they are pretty much self sufficient (kinda like a small community) so they need all kinds of stuff.  a few of the things they have purchased since i’ve been working there are a 22″ diameter propeller for a work boat, supplies to build a pool, 12 washing machines, welding goggles, life vests, 40,000 feet of cable, and 1200 feet of 10″ conduit.  apparently, we supply them with anything from shirts to trucks.

my job is to actually find these items for sale from a vendor.  i spend most of my day calling people and seeing if they will quote us a price for a particular item.  if they do, i take that price along with any other quotes and put together an invoice for our client.  then we send it to them and they decide whether they actually want to make the purchase or not.

i like it a lot.  there are a lot of strategies that i am lacking when dealing with the vendors.  we have to be a little pushy to make the process go fast but if we’re too pushy, they won’t bid and then we’re out of a vendor.  so i have to try to build a good working relationship with people so that they want to send me a bid quickly.

and they pay me pretty well too which is nice.

i heard about the job from a friend of mine.  we were texting one night and i mentioned that i was looking for a job and she asked me if i wanted her to get me and interview.  after about .2 seconds of thought i said yes and i had a job 3 days later.

this same friend (megan) has kind of grown on me.  her brother (nathan) and i both went to youth congress and really hit it off while we were there.  i had a great time hanging out with him and it didn’t stop when we got back.  i’ve spent a lot of time at their house and with them and it’s really been great.  i have been spending most of my time since i’ve been here with family and while i love them, it’s kind of nice to have friends that i don’t live with.  i would hang out with rob more oftenexcept that he works nights and sleeps during the day so it makes things difficult to do so.

but i’m really enjoying the changes in my life right now.

i started school last week and i have not heard back from the air force yet.  i plan on calling them on monday because wednesday will be 28 days from when they told me i was disqualified. 

so i’m pretty sure i’m going to enlist in the air force in a couple of weeks.

it all started when i didn’t have enough money to continue school.  i started thinking about my options and realized that an excellent solution would be the air force.   it will provide me with a full time job and up to $10000 in payment on my current student loans.  on top of that, i can continue my education as an airman with 100% tuition assistance.  after finishing my degree, i can apply for officer training school and rise from an enlisted member to an officer (which comes with more pay and better living conditions).

as well as the up front benefits, i will be given free medical, dental, and eye care for me and my family, i will have housing paid for along with a check every month for groceries, and i will have access to all of the military bases’ ammenities including the bx and the commisary.  i will be able to go anywhere in the world, finish school, train for a job i really enjoy, and comfortably support the family i’ve always wanted.

i started talking to recruiters about two weeks ago gathering information.  i took the asvab today and made a perfect score on it (99’s across the board) which qualifies me for almost every job the air force offers.   i am going to take a second qualifying test (the edpt) to try and get into the computer programming and data analysis field.

that is about all the recent info about it.  i don’t know when i’ll be getting shipped to basic or what job i’ll have.  i’ll keep posting here as more things develop.

i finally got one. i think it’s a dream of most guys (if not all) to own a motorcycle at one time or another. i have always wanted one but never really had the opportunity until recently. the people at tejas motorsports really worked a deal for me on this one. i actually found the bike at another dealership but they wouldn’t finance it for me. so i got tejas to buy it from them and i bought it from tejas along with their used bike service plan.

the bike is an 02 suzuki volusia and is in amazing condition. the only scratches that are on the bike are the ones i put on it from dropping it on both sides while learning to ride over the past couple of weeks. but they are really small. both times it fell over while i wasn’t moving so they are not scratches so much as pit marks where it hit the concrete.

i love riding it. unfortunately, it is really hot out here and i am too scared to not wear a jacket and full face helmet. i did ride it up the street once in a t-shirt and helmetless when i put the new pipes on it just to hear how it sounded. i drove less then half a mile total and realized why most people don’t wear protective gear. it feels amazing. but again, i’m too scared to do that.

i bought a really nice jacket and a really nice helmet that both match the bike’s colors. i also have a form fitting, no drag backpack to wear if i know i am going to be carrying books and such. the gear makes me look like i’m riding a sport bike and not a cruiser but i don’t care. i like them.

tomorrow is the day.  i spent last night and today packing up my room.  it amazed me at how little i actually had while at the same time amazed me at how much i got into this little room.  just when i thought i was done packing, i’d remember another drawer or cabinet and get another whole box full.

but now my room is pretty bare and i’m just waiting on kurtiss to get here.  see, my wonderful brother-in-law volunteered to drive out here all the way from houston with his truck and box trailer to transport all of my stuff out there.   i’m sure he’s had better days but it’s going to be a huge help.  in fact, i’m not sure if i could swing it without him doing this.  i definitely couldn’t afford a one way u-haul.

i’m in the process of tying up loose ends here.  i’m turning in keys, saying goodbyes, and taking care of other general business.

i won’t be able to tie up one end though…not ever i don’t think.  i’m having to leave my best friend in the whole world and it’s tearing me apart.  i have to say goodbye today and i am really not looking forward to it.  i can’t imagine that string will ever be tied off. 

this is mostly going to be an entry of pictures. when i started this project i thought i would do a final post about it containing detailed instructions on how i did it. i have changed my mind because..well…i just don’t feel like doing it. i am fairly pleased with what i have done but i also would change several things about it or do some more research into painting. all in all, i’m ok with the end result and don’t feel like i destroyed anything. i have gotten lots of comments about the work and would enjoy hearing what you all have to say.

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