My version of torture

[amg280]

Its bad enough doing the whole 9-5 work thing in an office in front of a computer 5 days a week right? Especially doing programming. How could it be worse? When the federal building across the street from your office window has the same tractor as you with every implement known to man working all day, plowing snow, blowing snow, rotory sweeping snow, cutting grass, fel work, etc...

How am I supposed to concentrate when you can hear the framiliar noise of the D1005 plugging away, wishing you were home on your's "working" in your own yard. Please note, the term working is a relative term, and is primarily what is said to the woman. We all know its playing, at least to me

Is it sad that I get mad when I seem him not operating the plow properly, stressing the hydraulics too much, or not using the diff lock when appropriate? <sigh> Hey! I helped pay for it, being a tax payer! :laughing:

I think im in the wrong profession...Id rather be outdoors, not couped up in a stupid office. Stupid corporate agenda.

 

[2manyrocks]

A lot of these government jobs are not based on qualifications. They are based on politics.

 

[taborekle]

Torture! Surely Torture. Perhaps some of those noice dampening head phones?

Computer programing can be interesting, (I use to do it), but I've found over the years that I like computer administration better (setting up, securing, patching, upgrading and answering questions and troubleshooting). It at least gets you up and around and talking to people.

 

[samofsweden]

amg280, funny to read this. I was sitting at the office thinking I would like to full fill my dream, working with machines. Instead of just letting it be a dream I desided to full fill it. So I bought an BX24, I couldnt find this one in Europe, so I orded one in US, got it shipped to Sweden. I did a few job on order/customer, realised that I needed a digging machine, so I bought a Volvo digger, did even more jobs, mostly garden jobs, because of my small machines.
I do make garden job from now and then. The best thing with it, is that I full filled an old dream, I tryied, and it wasnt big buck succes, but I tryied, and that are the most important. And Im a photographer
So amg280, go for it get out of the office:thumbsup:
/Sam
(sorry for bad spelling Im swedish)

 

[TripleR]

samofsweden, your English beats the heck out of any of our Swedish. My brother is retiring early this year and will probably do what you are doing.

amg280, I know what you mean. I spent my last few working years behind a desk.

 

[amg280]

Good words of advice, samofsweden. I always wanted to be a train engineer. I have a sick attraction to diesel engines. I have an older diesel benz, a 2006 GMC truck with the duramax, and now my Kubota . At any rate, thats funny you talk about photography. I myself dabble in it as well, although not at much as I used to. What do you have for a setup? I have a Nikon D300 with SB800 speedlight. Very nice setup. Almost too much camera for me!

Well almost time to go home and "work"

Have a good night guys

edit: DOH he's at it again

 

[Thomas]

Nothing wrong of being tad jealous.
I know what your talk about...makes the bonding time even more special.

 

[mantis]

Torture??? I bought a box blade and a post hole digger. I took vacation for the week it was being delivered. IT RAINED ALL WEEK! Everything has been sitting in the garage now for 2 weeks waiting for the ground to dry out. I'm going crazy.:confused2:

 

[samofsweden]

samofsweden, your English beats the heck out of any of our Swedish. My brother is retiring early this year and will probably do what you are doing.

Thanks! Im trying. Wish your brother good luck, tell your brother to rent machines in the beginning, then he knows what kind of machinery he needs. Renting is very good, you get the right machine size for the job. (But its a niceer feeling to have you own machinery)

amg280, good like with your train future:thumbsup: Im using Hasselblad H2 with a digitalback for some jobs.Canon EOS1 ds markIII for one kind of jobs. I mostly use the HB H2 in my studio and Canon on the field.
Your Nikon setup is very nice:thumbsup: Good luck.
/Sam

 

[RTII]

amg280

I see oportunity! Lunch break or coffee break go out and meet the operator. Get to know him. Explain you have the same tractor, talk tractors, offer to "help" during breaks. Get a short tractor "fix" during lunch. (who really needs lunch that couldn't be chewed on while driving a tractor?).

 

[TripleR]

samofsweden, renting is often a good idea and he has already been doing that. He is a former mechanic having worked on tractors then cars and owned his own foreign car service and is now a technician on industrial refrigeration, mechanical and electrical systems, so he is looking at buying and rebuilding used units.

 

[Baby Grand]

SamofSweden - the gang here loves pictures, dirty tractor work pictures, so we look forward to seeing your work pictures.

amg280 - I used to work for a building supply/lumber company when I was much younger. I drove several different Mack trucks - flat bed roll-off dump bodies (for dimension lumber), boxes (for millwork) and boom trucks (sheetrock, siding & shingle delivery). I loaded my own trucks with a Cat V120 forklift. All diesel. So I got that diesel bug bad, too.

Now I work in a cube farm. Every morning I drive by the plant maintenence equipment area - a few L3400s, a few 3000 series Deeres, 2 big payloaders, a telehandler and an overhead crane. Lately I was thinking how great it would be to work with the maintenance crew. Then, on Thursday, as I drove by the equipment area it was 33 degreesF with a blistering 15-20 mph wind driving a relentless rain & sleet mixture horizontal and I remembered why I went back to engineering school. Eight hour days of that for a week at a time can make a warm, dry cubicle with flu infested cube mates look not so bad. Something to think about.

Jim

 

[eazyduzzit]

Beautiful dog there (Looks just like my Jake). Is he a chocolate?

 

[Mock1]

Not exactly 9 to 5 or a desk job. That's me in the orange coveralls
"riding the load." I wasn't so much thinking of my tractor as
I was thinking of how much it's gonna hurt if this goes down.

 

[WayneB]

I would think the best thing you could do is to convince your powers to be that you might be more effective at software writing at home, lets face it you would save the time you drive in and drive home for work, could start earlier in the morning and work later into the night. There are benefits of being home and working. Now there are also downsides to home working.

One you might have to get out and move some snow around so the wife can get out and go to work. You might have to mow the grass while the sun is shinning, no since in waiting for the rains to come, there is no gathering around the coffee pot and being Monday morning quarterback. Working alone at home is also boring at times, very difficult to keep ones mind on the work requirements!

Twenty odd years ago I decided I had had enough of the corporate world and went out on my own, never once looked back and said 泥arn I wish I hadn稚 done this? Now there are times when the bills are due and the account is bordering on the red line, but for the most part it has been just great. There are pressures and always a problem or two, but they are my pressures and my problems, so I like that.

Figure out what you really want to do, then figure out if you have enough money to make the first six months or so and then go for it.

 

[newbury]

Its bad enough doing the whole 9-5 work thing in an office in front of a computer 5 days a week right? Especially doing programming. How could it be worse? When the federal building across the street from your office window has the same tractor as you with every implement known to man working all day, plowing snow, blowing snow, rotory sweeping snow, cutting grass, fel work, etc...<snip>

How could it be worse?

First of all - a lot of those jobs running tractors are dependent on weather. They often require no education (educashun) so the pay level matches. When the laborer retires (if he can) at 65 he may or may not get a reirement check, have a 401K, or be able to program.

Most programmers and college level plus cube dweller professionals have a pretty good pay level, don't worry if it's raining or hot, and when they retire can buy and run a tractor at their leisure.

My father dropped me at a local farm to work summers when I was about 14 and I walked home.
It taught me to:
1) Love haying in good weather, driving tractors when it was gorgeous out (Vermont in early fall) and a keen appreciation of farm girls.
2) It taught me to dislike HAVING to work outside to get the hay, corn, or cows in when it's raining like H, having to work open cab tractors in inclement weather and be wary of farm girls.

Now I'm about to retire and I plan on doing a lot of 1 above, and as little of 2 as I can, with the exception of the farm girl part.

 

[bstrom]

A lot of these government jobs are not based on qualifications. They are based on politics.

Right - no politics involved in the selection of people in the private sector. And of course the private sector employees work so much harder too, like staring out the window at tractors, dreaming about a low paying manual cold outdoor labor job. (I'm a hard working self-employed guy now but I have worked for state government and the private sector, there ain't much difference in the politics or qualifications I got to tell you.)

 

[/pine]

Torture? I'll tell you about torture...

Since the first of Dec. I have been accumulating the hardware that I will need to add 3 rear remotes with T&T cylinders, and one additional front remote for a grapple etc...

The torture part comes everytime I look at the amassed valves, cylinders, boxes of fittings and hoses...knowing full well that it will be at least another month before I actually get to put a wrench on any of the above mentioned collection...

On top of that I have a new (to me) rear scrape blade and a brand new electric winch that was just given to me...to play with...

torture I tell you...

 

[TripleR]

First of all - a lot of those jobs running tractors are dependent on weather. They often require no education (educashun) so the pay level matches. When the laborer retires (if he can) at 65 he may or may not get a reirement check, have a 401K, or be able to program.

Most programmers and college level plus cube dweller professionals have a pretty good pay level, don't worry if it's raining or hot, and when they retire can buy and run a tractor at their leisure.

My father dropped me at a local farm to work summers when I was about 14 and I walked home.
It taught me to:
1) Love haying in good weather, driving tractors when it was gorgeous out (Vermont in early fall) and a keen appreciation of farm girls.
2) It taught me to dislike HAVING to work outside to get the hay, corn, or cows in when it's raining like H, having to work open cab tractors in inclement weather and be wary of farm girls.

Now I'm about to retire and I plan on doing a lot of 1 above, and as little of 2 as I can, with the exception of the farm girl part.

That brought a smile to my face. I grew up farming and couldn't wait to get away. I resumed farming while in college to make "extra money" and my last year I managed to break even. I graduated and spent 30+ years in Law Enforcement/Criminal Justice so I could retire and spend as much time on a tractor as I can manage. The difference is now I don't HAVE to do anything I don't want to and my income doesn't depend on it.

 

[amg280]

The difference is now I don't HAVE to do anything I don't want to and my income doesn't depend on it.

That has to be a great feeling!

Tons of good advice from this forum for such an "off topic" post. Much appreciated! I would like to add a few things:

A "lunch break" fix would be the perfect solution! haha. I can eat my sandwich and put my soda in the cup holder. Multi-task.

That is my dog, a chocolate lab with blue eyes, his name is Sam.

Alot of interesting comments concerning outside work/weather. I do agree. In my off time from college, I used to work at Taylor Rental, renting out big machines, etc. It was probably one of the most enjoyable jobs I ever had, didnt pay much, but good people, good equipment, good times. Then winter hit. Not so much fun anymore. Weather plays a BIG factor. I would think, however, when its for your own personal interest (i.e. your own business/farm/etc), you wouldnt be so down on your luck, and maybe have a slighty better disposition.

I also worked in between semesters at school as a Mercedes mechanic. Another job that drew me to diesels. Mechanics had nothing but good things to say about them, damm near bullet proof. You can always tell what a good car is by what your mechanic drives (well most of the time I guess).

Eventually, I will go off on my own, and probably for something completely un-related to what I am doing now. If this job didnt pay so good, and support my 401K and health insurance, I probably would be doing freelance stuff. But there is a mortgage and bills to pay, so thats not an option right now. Ive only been in the "corporate" world for 6 years now. Im already tired of the rat-race agenda, the politics, and the just plain corporate bull$hit.

Im sure its great for 80% of the population, but I consider myself in the 20% that see's through it. Im one of those strange people that considers myself an "independent thinker" and to question everything and trust noone, especially from the govt. I also believe that college is a big brain washing scam as well. Not to sound so negative (sorry), but as far as im concerned, its just a big "plot" to prepare you for working for the "man". Ive learned more from on the job experience than I ever learned at the 4 years I spent at an engineering school.

I graduated, did the whole college thing, just to get that $160,000 piece of paper so "someone" would "consider" looking at my resume. Noone did though because I had no experience. Dramatic irony, wouldnt you say? I was out of work for 2 years after graduating from such a "prestigious" school, with tons of debt. I started taking computer courses, getting my certifications (MCSE, Cisco, etc.), and when I finished, got a GOOD secure job in one week, let me reiterate, ONE WEEK. And it was better than any other potential job in the two years' post graduating. But they liked me because I was ready to hit the ground running, able to be productive from day one, and I was. I showed them what an asset I was, and in the 5 years I have been here, my salary has increased over 24K. College that wasnt needed: 160K. Computer courses, test, etc: 12K. Take that how you will.

Sorry for ranting, im getting even more off topic, and hope I havent offended anyone.

I had some good seat time this w/e moving snow away from my pole barn. It was stacking up so high from falling off the roof, it was actually bowing in the sliding doors from the weight pushing on it.


Oh, and one last thing. LOVE farm girls