Calgon, take me away!

I cannot begin to write how tumultuous my work week was all last week. It was one of the worst weeks I have ever endured in all of my 12 years in the construction business. At one point on early Wednesday morning, I was squatting down on a pile of dirt high above my guys working below the pile and watching them install piping and valves for a major tie-in at one of my projects... the sun is just beating down and every one was completely drenched in sweat and the energy level was gone by 10:00am... And I am thinking to myself "how did I get into this business?" while watching two men get sprayed with shit water from a discharge hose that was slightly out of control for a brief moment. We managed to successfully finish the tie-in on late Wednesday, but my job is long from being finished since the Owner refuses to pay us for the excessive pump rental costs and labor it took to do the work. Unfortunately, one of my tasks is convincing the Engineer/Owner that this excessive amount of work is extra and we should be paid for it…. not always the easiest thing to do. The gift of persuasion is not one of my best talents…. I would rather spend my time and energy doing other tasks than arguing over who is right or wrong. As a matter of fact, if I could make email my only form of communication in my job and never have to talk to anybody on the phone, my life would be just peachy! After the whole tie-in saga I then delved into another saga over on my other project that lasted all day Thursday and Friday and even into today. The amount of time is takes folks to make a decision just amazes me sometimes… And I am referring to high-paid engineer-types that “specialize” in this field or that field. What a crock! Answers would make my work time so much more productive… By Friday evening I was on the verge of “going postal” as one of my co-workers declared on our way out the job trailer to go home… What a nice description of your boss I think to myself… that is a pretty scary option I had not even thought of…