Richard Mackey // I'm going to stop putting my employment in profiles, because it changes as often as my underwear. Almost monthly :P
Richard Mackey // I'm going to stop putting my employment in profiles, because it changes as often as my underwear. Almost monthly :P
In my life I have worn many hats.
I have been a busboy, dishwasher, pizza delivery driver, any-kind-of-restaurant-food delivery driver, restaurant manager, cook, sous chef, recovering-allergic-to-food-guy (go figure), gas station attendant, courier, city truck driver, office clerk, sales person, web designer, graphics designer, computer technician, network technician, network designer, office manager, system administrator, jaded ex-husband, horticulturist of ill-repute, back to cook and car wash attendant. I probably missed a couple there.
During the last four years I have been repairing computer problems for Joe and Josephine Average and driving a three ton tilt-deck tow truck in the idyllic setting of rural Alberta.
Idyllic indeed, because the relaxing, laid-back lifestyle I became accustomed to allowed me to drift in to a lackadaisical, let-the-world-pass-me-by kind of mindset that soon had me answering the phone with "No, he doesn't live here anymore and no, I don't know when he'll pay that bill".
The pay sucks.
It wasn't the pay grade. The towing job paid a very good hourly rate, and the computer repair paid as much as I asked. But the towing hours have been few and far between, and computer repairs would pay a lot better if I was capable of billing fairly. "Yes I spent three hours on that problem, but you're a nice lady who just lost her job and, although you drive a car that is worth more than my house, you may be having money troubles now. So how does forty bucks sound? I'll throw in the RAM upgrade, it was just laying around anyway."
No. I am not capable of running my own business. Ask Revenue Canada. But I can sink my teeth into whatever a bossman points at and says "sick'em!". So when I found that classified ad online that said "You see that big Tonka toy over there? You see those buckets? Drive that for us and we'll fill those buckets with money and hand them to you."
Okay, I paraphrased a little. But you get my point: Sunday evening I am driving up to Fort McMurray, Alberta to start my training as a Rock Truck Driver. Yes, I capitalised that for emphasis. Rock. Truck. Driver. Gigantic Frikkin Tonka Toy. Cap'd that too.
I will be living in a camp of about 5000 people, and from all accounts this camp is a resort. The canteen feeds you your weight in steak and potatoes, it is covered in Wi-Fi to the point where it sets off radiological alarms, the TV in your room has every channel broadcast on Earth and two specialty channels from Proxima Centauri (weather permitting) and the chairs all have ass-kissing modules sewn into the seat cushions. All of this is hearsay of course, but if half of it is true (c'mon seat cushions!) I will be happier than a pig in poop.
Of course the job will be difficult! Bouncing back and forth through a construction site in a giant dump truck for twelve hours a day, eleven days a week (three days off) will take it's toll, but don't you remember what I said about the buckets? And the quarter-cow steaks? And the ass-kissing chairs? Dude!
So there it is. I leave Sunday for a seven hour drive into Hell's Lap of Luxury. I get the bill collectors off my back. I put money in the bank that stays there for a while. I gain a few much-needed kilograms (this is Canada man). And I drive a Giant Freakin Tonka! Win-win! With two extra "wins" thrown in!
To my friends in the Buzz Out Loud chatroom: You can't get rid of me that easily, I'll have Wi-Fi. To my fellow Twitterers: See previous statement. To my physical-world friends: I'm doing this for you (but mostly me, really), just don't expect loan paybacks in the first couple of months. To my bill collectors: You'll get paid soon, and then I'm calling YOU every morning! Just to ask you what you're having for breakfast! Suck it!
Stay tuned. If I can drag myself back to my room after shift and still function, I will keep you posted on my adventures. If not, I will post on my last day off when I should be somewhat healed from my adventures. Either way, you can't get rid of me that easily.
TONKA!
Thursday April 29 2010
between Carstairs and Airdrie, Alberta on Hwy 2
Although no snow seemed to be left on the highway from the actual fall, high winds from the west blew huge piles on to the southbound lanes from the fields, freezing into bumpy messes (notice how jerky the video is) and building big drifts. Even though southbound was nearly impassable you can see traffic zooming along nicely northbound. On the trip home the traffic waiting for the stretch to be plowed (again) was about 7 kilometres long. This added about 2 1/2 hrs to my trip.
Of course there have been many scams perpetrated in the name of one charity or another, but this is the first I have received.
I have respect for the work done by Habitat for Humanity, so using them for an identity theft scam kinda burns my butt:
Hello Prospective Employee, At HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, we work hard to improve and provide training, technical expertise and support in fund
raising to the national organizations in all the regions of the world. However, the actual work of HABITAT is carried out at the community level by
affiliates that have been officially approved by the HFHI Board of Directors. The International Board of Directors (IBOD) are volunteers from around
the world who share a deep concern for the problems of poverty housing. This is demonstrated in our role as a corporate sponsor for the HAITI
RELIEF PROGRAM with money raised going towards helping displaced and disabled children and their families. We are an organization with a
remarkable heritage. You've got a chance to be one of our representatives and earn a commission for funds raised.This Could earn you an
average of $200 - $500 weekly and as much as $2000 (TAX FREE) in a month depending on how active you are. You can be rest assured that
you WOULD NOT be required to pay any fees upfront and this won't affect your current job earnings or disability payments in any way and you
can conveniently work from your desk at home. Private donations will be made in your name from our esteemed Voluntary Donors in your
region and other parts of the world and you'll be allowed to deduct 10 percent (10%) of the total amount on these donations. This serves as
your remuneration for the great service you would be rendering in support of saving lives in the third-world countries. Balances (after the 10%)
shall be required to be forwarded to the Regional Co-ordinators of the various charitable projects we are involved in around the Globe. Please
Note: You won't have to do any travelling and WILL NOT be required to pay any fees, this position won't affect your present employment. To
apply, Kindly forward the following info: to our Human Resource Department at the email listed below for further instructions.
FULL NAME :
FULL ADDRESS :
CITY :
STATE:
ZIP CODE/POSTCODE:
PHONE NUMBER (S) :(must be valid) would be called to confirm.
GENDER : ..
AGE : ..
EMAIL ADDRESS:...
COUNTRY : ...
Your prompt response is solicited Coordinator's Desk,
Habitat for Humanity International
121 Habitat Street Americus, GA 31709
1-800-800-2190
Registered No. MHQLTH1084442
REPLY TO BE SENT THROUGH : habitathr(at)blumail(dot)org
