Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Monotony

I can't imagine what i'm about to rant about would be of interest to anyone but dammit i'm over it and i wanna kick and scream!!

I was at work last finally doin some work after 2 weeks of taping and painting. We're getting the shop ready for a base inspection ( we do it twice a year it sucks!). Can't tell you why but it seams they ( my supervisors ) think i'm the only one in the shop that knows how to tape up the lines on the ground and repaint the lines on each stall in shop. Scrape the old paint, tape up the lines, paint ( 3 coats ), paint all the bus lifts, paint all brake pit, paint the steam rack! Fuck!

Ok finally yesterday I get to do some real work. I'm hit with the realization..... I fuckin hate my job! I hate the fuckin monotony of fixing the same buses again and again. If my car was this problematic i'd set it on fire!

Ok let me explain a little in case I still have someone's attention. At the base I work at we've got a little over 120 buses. I was given a defect card from the driverof 104 stating that the ABS dash light was on all day on . I look in the file for bus 104 to check the history...that way if another mechanic has worked on the ABS ( anti-lock brack system ) we wouldn't be wasting time doin something another mechanic has already tried. Anyway! I can see that this same bus was in the shop a few days ago for the PA mic being bad, it was replaced. Last week the AC system wouldn't turn on... a fuse was replaced. Just last week the ABS light was on and was already repaired!!! Holy Crap! We fix'em and fix'em and fucking fix'em and they keep fuckin breaking! Those are good buses, they are clean, they run smooth, they've got good tires and good brakes don't worry about that....but My God changing a transmission is one thing, changing the brakes is another but constantly fixing those little things and troubleshooting things that shouldn't break so often is ridiculous. If my car had an ac problem one day and a headlight out the next i'd sell that shit!

That's what we do all day, on swing shift we fix those little problems the driver's write up and i can't believe how often those things go bad. Headlights only last a few months, wipers fall off during service, the passengers are cutting the seats with a knife. On graveyard it's the same shit different story. We do preventative maintenance, where we look inside, outside, under the bus and in the engine for "defects".... after all the work we do on swing shift fixing all the driver's defects... the guys on graveyard will still find like 30 interior defects and 15 exterior defects ie. lights out moulding falling off, wipers bad. Dam! Now swing shift has to fix all that shit.... it's the same shit all day all week all year!

Thanks goodness i'm in school trying to do something better, more lucrative and hopefully more rewarding. It's just a scary thought to know that i'm not even half way through my first semester back and have so long to go. That just tells me how much longer I have to deal with all these buses constantly needing the same little repairs.

I've just got to hang in there and before too long i'll be working 3 12's and complaing about something else entirely i'm sure. The difference..... a lot more money =)

3 comments:

SFLV said...

the long term goal keeps you motivated, but it can also make the current situation seem dull and more of a waste of time. i soooo know how that feels! but, keep doing what ur doing, you'll be fine! plus w/ a background in the med field, the possibilities are endless! Jamie keeps telling me that it's soooo worth it at the end. I'll have to think she's right, look at how much fun she's having! geeeez, soon enough!

Anne said...

I feel that many people can identify with the monotony of their jobs. Many people work in jobs they've done for YEARS. It's funny you blogged about this because I was asking myself the same question, "how can I wake up and just do the same thing five days a week?" I think many of us just operate on autopilot until we find something better or we decide to stay and keep doing what it is we already know. Some people like routine because they're comfortable. When I find people who wake up and go to jobs they love, I find myself wishing I had that. I wish I had a job I could be passionate about.

Spike said...

For real Anne,

This job used to be that for me. I used to think about my job when i wasn't there... weird! I used to listen to people bitch about work and coworkers and think or even say... "man, sorry i can't relate. I love my job and my coworkers." Now, I guess that's faded for various reasons.... I think I'm just over it and realizing i'm a woman and can only play so long. I need something i can handle while pregnant or raising kids. I need a job with female camaraderie and basically a new challenge. Some people may wonder what it's like to have my job but seriously the grass is always greener on the other side.... it sometimes SEEMS. nah.