how people are coping in the recession.

shift.

my job has been boring for about a month now. there has been continuous sitting on my ass for way too many hours each day. i know i'm some how not supposed to complain especially since i'm getting paid for those hours, but you have to understand that one reason i stepped into the trades was to be B-U-S-Y. like bust-your-ass busy. a good signifier of how slow it's been was a couple of weeks ago, we actually did real work. i think i may have had at least one bead of sweat role down my face. gratifying. but the kicker was that the next day i was sore. wow. i'm getting weak. not good.

the slow time came as a warning of what may lay down the road. i've known that there was little work on the horizon for over a month. my favorite journeyman got laid off six weeks ago, and i've been grasping at hours ever since. i know my foreman has been searching for ways to keep me busy which is a vote of confidence for sure, but seriously, i was going nuts! on friday, relief came: i was laid off. the recession has been all around me for awhile. i know my architecture buddies have probably been feeling the pain for some time. my moment has come to serve my stint in unemployment-land. i am no stranger to unemployment (long stint without a job after my "layoff" in 2007). i know that it can actually be nice to catch up on all the books i haven't read (lots of visits to the library) and pick up a new craft or two (making some badass earrings to sell). hell, the weather is entering fantastic time in portland, so i'll have plenty of time to ride my bike and garden to my heart's content. in reality i see it like this: funemployment. i'll enjoy my break, and savor that being part of a union with a hiring hall means i'll be working in 6-8 weeks.

work attire.

i remember the days of having to collect proper biz casual attire. i hated almost everything i amassed over the years and, since starting working construction, have donated most of it to a better cause. i now appreciate being able to role out of bed and throw on whatever t-shirt looks clean and the same overalls i wore yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. i rarely think about it. so simple.

however, there are times when what you wear to the jobsite should be thought through. such as when the site is a mostly finished and occupied facility. the client is everywhere all the time. i about laughed my ass off when i saw a big, fat dude wearing this shirt on the site. nice choice, i say.