Wednesday 21 March 2012

Page 8

I know it's bad form to start a post with a rant, but the whole purpose of this blog is to get shit outta my head... See, it's starting to feel like this year is posed to be one that tests me. Even though it seemed to start out on a high note, I've now realised that no matter how well you plan things, life has a tendency to throw shit your way every now and then regardless. The 'shit' that I'm talking about this time is the fact that my boss is being a mega inconsiderate prick. Have you ever had a job that you loathe going to each and every day just because of one tiny little annoying thing about it? I can say that this is the case for me now. I used to love going into the V8 yard, figuring out what fence to put up for the day, looking at all the plans and seeing where we are up to, and slowly but surely getting closer to our target of being finished a good week out from the event. But what should be a fairly simple process is thrown into chaos because my boss is a lazy, meandering, control-freak, second guessing, hypocrite. And he's pretty much ruined any sense of time it is for me, along with my 'body-clock', by changing me from day shift to night shift back to day shift then back to night shift over and over again. He spiels off about how the last guy that worked for him full-time used to just sit in the forklift while the rest of the crew did all the hard work, now he's following suit to a tee. It frustrates the hell out of me...! As I type this, I've literally just finished a 4 hour shift (yeah, I know it's a short shift, I'll explain) out in the absolute pouring rain, in the middle of the night, on a section of road that we could do at anytime of the day. It was the kind of section we could have done pretty much anytime, day or night, but to me it would have made more sense to put this particular section of fence up when it wasn't pouring with rain and windy as hell, due to the fact that the panels were coated with big sheets of plastic 'hoarding' that makes them three times as heavy and a pain in the ass to handle in the best of conditions... I was under the impression that we would be focusing on the areas of the track that were difficult to get to during the day (because of traffic - cars and pedestrians) but he insists on changing the plan every five minutes it seems to accommodate his sense of 'organisation'. Which plainly just baffles me. I've pretty much stopped caring about the job at this stage, I used to be really finicky about keeping long sections of fence nice and straight and tidy, keeping all the advertising signs on one side of the mesh, but now I just put the panels of fence up and walk away. If he moans about something I've found it's easiest not to say a single word in reply, and continue going about what I was doing. It's like he thinks I'm a complete idiot, telling me how to do things I've done a thousand times before, trying to show me 'his' way, even though I've worked out how to do it easier with exactly the same result, even making tasks faster by doing things my own way. I know it's not very professional, but I've pretty much given up on any idea that there is a future in the fencing company for me, even though he wants me to be the 'area manager' once the V8's are finished. I'm not 100% decided yet, but he's making it difficult to find a reason to stay on after the race...

Anyways, that's my rant for today, apart from that things are going well, I spent a little bit of time playing with my bike today, just doing odd bits and pieces on it, cleaning the chain, polishing the chrome, cleaning all the brake dust off the wheels, that sort of thing. I do enjoy just sitting in the garage working on my bike almost as much as I enjoy riding it, because I'm just that kind of guy. I'm getting closer to stripping it down to a bare frame again now, I've found a 'good', reputable powder-coating business, referred to me by an engineer that I deal with pretty much daily through work, he says they do a really good job and will give me a good discount for mentioning he referred me. So, all that's left now is to save up a little bit more money, then I can pull everything off the bike once more and all the silver metalwork blacked out the way I want. After that, the motor will be serviced again to ensure everything is perfect, then piece by piece it'll all go back together to be finished (or as close to finished as any 'project' ever seems to be!)

On a note somewhat relevant to the top paragraph, I have been toying with the idea of moving back up north, to be closer to my biker friends up there, and to be back where things felt like 'home' as well. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the next couple of months goes at work, before I make a solid decision on that one. It'd be cool to be closer to everyone that I ride with in our group, but I wouldn't make the move unless a few things had been worked out first. I've had a couple of job offers from up north, so I know that side of things would be okay, but I'd need to make sure my home situation was okay too... One thing I do appreciate about where I am at the moment is that my home situation here is as close to perfect as it could possibly be! That would probably be my only reservation about moving away. Anyways, I'll have to weigh up the pro's and con's of staying versus moving in time regardless.

To finish on a better note, the weekend just been (at the racetrack) has opened up my mind to the idea of getting back into motorsport, as I previously alluded to, to the point where I am now keeping my eyes open for a fairly cheap but reliable (and easy to work on!) track-bike, with a few options already presenting themselves to me via the web and a couple of friends in the know... I have kinda figured that if I do get a track-bike, my finances are going to take a fair whack, so I was planning on waiting till I have finished my 'mystery trip'... (By the way, no-one has worked out where I want to go for the 'trip' yet!) I plan on being a regular at the events coming up, I really enjoyed being part of it all so much that I've made it known I want to be doing more! I'm hoping I don't have to work this weekend so I can go see more Superbike action, but have to wait and see whether or not I can make it. It's the final round of the New Zealand National series, so it's bound to be a great weekend's worth of racing, hope the weather plays nicely for it!!!

Until next time...

:-)


5 comments:

  1. Hi Mate,

    You right a good blog,and seem to have something to offer. To increase your readership may I give you some advice.

    * Break up the paragraphs a bit more, it is a bit hard to read when it is one massive piece.

    * Try to add some pics, people are turned off by just words, ( some pic's from the weekend racing would of been good, I certainly would have been interested.)

    * When people comment on your blog make sure you reply, you will begin to get to know people and who is following. Often people will comment for a reason, acknowledge it.

    * Follow a few other peoples blogs, they in turn will start following yours, when you say something that touches a nerve they may right a blog about yours and link back to it...increasing your profile etc. You will begin to get followers from all over the world.

    Otherwise keep it up, there are only about 4 kiwi bloggers that I know off, and most people from overseas are envious with the fact that NZ is a bikers paradise, we should rightly show this off to the world!

    Good stuff Scott, I hope you are not offended by this comment. Just trying to help you increase your readership, you are obviously gifted with words, the more people that read it the better.

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    1. Spot on, don't think I could have said it much better actually.

      Also, Scott, are you thinking of Auckland or further? Come to Auckland bro, when I get my new bike we can go for a ride, and what kind of track bike are you looking at and what price range?

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    2. Yeah, I'm thinking Auckland for my move... For the track bike, I'm not too sure yet, just looking through TM for options and such. Price range will depend on how my finances look after I get back from my big trip... :-)

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  2. hehe, 'mystery trip.' You told me about that at the airport, including where you were going, I'm very tempted to say.....

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    Replies
    1. Lol well, the cat is pretty much out of the bag anyways... :-)

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