Here We Go Again!

Yep! It happened yet again! I'm once again unemployed! Here's how it went down this time.

Friday morning I went in to work at the plant I have been working at for the past few weeks. This is the noisy, dirty, hot, smelly, slippery place I've been at and wishing I could get out of! Of course, I was wishing I could get back to building the rest of the panels I have in my garage which is so much nicer and easier than clambering over sticky, oily machines in that plant. Soon after I arrived, my co-worker, Harry, a licensed electrician also hired by my friend, told me that the day before (I had been off with yet another major migraine, one of the worst in recent months), he had been approached by the automation engineer we were working with, who asked him if he wanted a full-time job in the plant! Harry told me that this engineer AND the plant manager had noticed what a good job we were doing and were hoping we would join them! We talked about this for a few minutes, then we went back to our respective jobs for that morning. About an hour later, the engineer, Tibor, by name, came up to me and asked me if I was a full-time employee of my friend's company. I told him the truth, that I was actually a part-time employee, and then he asked me if I had my own business. Again, I truthfully replied in the affirmative. Then he says, "So, if we get another job like this one, we could hire you directly? You would get more money that way!" Now, I may be too honest for my own good, but I replied that I wouldn't want to hurt my friend, who gave me this job in the first place. He just nodded and said no more on the subject. I began to think about the possibilities, and my mood lifted quite considerably as I realized that, since this company is a division of one of the largest car parts manufacturers in Ontario, that I might have an "in" to all of them through this one! The morning sped by after that as my mind was taken up with what I would have to do to secure this line of work. Now, before you get all happy for me, remember two things: 1) I really disliked the environment of this plant, and I had been told all the other plants were similar, and 2) this is all in my head so far!

Fast forward to after lunch. I was talking to Tibor about what needed to be done next when he dropped the bomb on me. He'd just been informed by the plant manager that he, the engineer, is finishing off the rest of the job by himself! Just like that, the the company changed their mind and cancelled the rest of my friend's contract. Then it hit me. This is the exact same situation I kept running into at my last major contract at Grantek! We'd be working our tails off on a project, only to have it cut out from under us about halfway through, and I'd be out of work with next to no notice. Every year I was at Grantek, this had happened. Only once, was I able to finish off a project there, and that was the first year I worked for them. I actually came in on the tail end of the job when they were under extreme pressure to meet the customer's deadline. Every other project I worked on at Grantek was either cancelled, or indefinitely postponed! I guess it's an industry wide symptom. I had just thought it was Grantek not planning far enough ahead! Now I see firsthand, how fast the winds can change within the manufacturing industry, and now I think I'm convinced that I want no part of it any more.

The silver lining in this cloud is; at least I now know that working as a supplier to the manufacturing industry is not what I want to do. I get to scratch one possible career path off my list and focus more on the rest. Now if I could just figure out what it is that I DO want to do... LOL!

Speaking of possible career paths... This coming weekend is the annual TruckFest in Fergus, a small town north of Guelph, where I live. Trucking companies from all over North America come to this small town to celebrate the trucking industry and a lot of truck owners come to show off their custom trucks. We (my wife and I) went last year for the truck and tractor pulling event and had a blast! I really want to go again this year, once again for the pulling events, which we love, and secondly, to talk to the trucking company recruiters who will be there in force. I've decided that before I make the decision to take the truck driving path, I want as much information as I can get about the actual possibilities available. I'm not about to go further into debt to get my AZ license only to find out I can't get a job working for the companies I'd like because they only want experienced drivers. I will not drive for some of the "fly-by-night", "corner-cutting" smaller trucking companies that are so prolific in Ontario. Too many innocent people have been killed by poorly maintained rigs in this province for me to want to take that risk. If I can't get a job right away with a reputable company, then this career path is not the right one for me. I know, I'm being picky, but I only have about 25 (max.) working years left in my life and I want them to be good, well-paid, and fulfilling years, to make up for the past 20 unfulfilling, poorly paid, extremely stressful ones. I have my family to think of, and now, looming ever closer, retirement as well. Quality of life is a huge issue for me, and since my health isn't the strongest at the best of times, keeping the stress to a minimum is paramount with me now. I've wasted too many years being stressed out, depressed, sick, tired, and frustrated to continue along that path.

So, with that in mind, this coming week I am planning on contacting some more temp agencies, looking for CLEAN, light work for the next few weeks, as well as getting some stuff done around the house. My girls are leaving this evening for a week with my parents, so this will be the prime opportunity to finish painting their furniture and getting that ceiling fan mounted in their room. Then I'll have to see about getting the garage cleaned up once again, and also my office. An ambitious plan for a guy who seems to spend most of his "off hours" in bed under the influence of powerful pain killers! At least the weather forecast for the week is calling for sunny, warm days for the next 5 days! Hopefully, this means my headaches will be mild to moderate instead of the severe to extreme they are with unsettled weather. I just hope the showers forecasted for next Saturday happen earlier (or later, but earlier means my gardens won't dry out as much), and that Saturday is dry, mild and sunny for TruckFest!

Have a great week everybody!