Another Blessed day here! I'll be 58 later this year. Have been employed as an engineer since finishing LSU in 1980. Same employer for 20 years and at this point am working to have something to do. I've thought about retiring but working in the drilling industry can be pretty dynamic and the pay is through the roof! The wife and I have all of our needs taken care of and most of the wants. To sum my day (and life) up have to say I've been blessed!
What is your day like?
- Thread starter hodge
- Start date
Daren Todd
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
Massey Ferguson 1825E, Kubota Z121S, Box blade, Rotary Cutter
Mine will wander around and play, then when you drop him back off to his momma he'll wipe his forehead, and say"whew, poppy made me work today"
RCW
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
Lived upstate NY all my life:
0-10 years: dairy farm. Learned to back a Minneapolis Moline ZAU and shit spreader down the barn floor at ~6. Couldn't do it today.
11-15: Helped farmers renting our farm, including taking care of horses and heifers in the barn and pasture. Shot a lot of woodchucks.
16-22: Worked through high school and college in the bar/restaurant business. First in extended family to go to college. Still shot a lot of woodchucks. BS degrees in both biology and forestry. Got to the point of owning a bar/restaurant, or get out all together.
23-: As Skeets says, started working for the gubberment. Health inspector, then the Chief Health Inspector, then Director, then......Married my bride 25 years ago. 22 year old twins at Cornell now (valedictorian and salutatorian in HS). 15 year old son that may not see college if I kill him before then. He's a lot like me, back so many years.
With 27 years in the gubberment system, looking forward to retiring in the next few years, if they'll keep me that long.
I've always loved the woods and cutting wood. Did a lot of firewood over the years, and spent several winters doing 4-foot Norway Spruce pulp. While I don't cut much anymore, I still have a Stihl 046 Magnum saw. I tell people I only do lilac bushes now, but dammit can do them FAST!
This is a great group here at OTT!! I've really enjoyed you guys for the last year +. I've learned from many, and consider all as great guys willing to help their colleagues.
Lil Foot - thanks for kicking this up.
0-10 years: dairy farm. Learned to back a Minneapolis Moline ZAU and shit spreader down the barn floor at ~6. Couldn't do it today.
11-15: Helped farmers renting our farm, including taking care of horses and heifers in the barn and pasture. Shot a lot of woodchucks.
16-22: Worked through high school and college in the bar/restaurant business. First in extended family to go to college. Still shot a lot of woodchucks. BS degrees in both biology and forestry. Got to the point of owning a bar/restaurant, or get out all together.
23-: As Skeets says, started working for the gubberment. Health inspector, then the Chief Health Inspector, then Director, then......Married my bride 25 years ago. 22 year old twins at Cornell now (valedictorian and salutatorian in HS). 15 year old son that may not see college if I kill him before then
. He's a lot like me, back so many years.With 27 years in the gubberment system, looking forward to retiring in the next few years, if they'll keep me that long.
I've always loved the woods and cutting wood. Did a lot of firewood over the years, and spent several winters doing 4-foot Norway Spruce pulp. While I don't cut much anymore, I still have a Stihl 046 Magnum saw. I tell people I only do lilac bushes now, but dammit can do them FAST!
This is a great group here at OTT!! I've really enjoyed you guys for the last year +. I've learned from many, and consider all as great guys willing to help their colleagues.
Lil Foot - thanks for kicking this up.
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Lil Foot
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
No problem! I thought it would be interesting to hear from others, and I haven't been disappointed.
Daren Todd
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
Massey Ferguson 1825E, Kubota Z121S, Box blade, Rotary Cutter
Took the week off to take care of a couple of projects around the house Ended up working harder at home then I do at work. Replaced a 20x20 section of concrete at the end of the drive way and angled it in to meet the existing concrete, with retaining walls on the up hill side of the culvert. To keep the drive way from washing out.
Had a couple of trees blown over from a tornado. Was supposed to have the stumps and root balls removed while the back hoe was here, but the yard was to wet. So I 'll have to wait till august to finish landscaping the back yard
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Ended up working harder at home then I do at work. Replaced a 20x20 section of concrete at the end of the drive way and angled it in to meet the existing concrete, with retaining walls on the up hill side of the culvert. To keep the drive way from washing out. Had a couple of trees blown over from a tornado. Was supposed to have the stumps and root balls removed while the back hoe was here, but the yard was to wet. So I 'll have to wait till august to finish landscaping the back yard
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Mechanic for work, mechanic for hobby. Too many friends with crappy vehicles.
Problem is this time of year, grass cutting takes priority over all else (9 acres) and this year its like rope.last round was nearly $50.00 in gas. Once a week til it dries up some.
Gotta find a nice mower for the 'bota.
Great forum, many knowledgeable people.
Problem is this time of year, grass cutting takes priority over all else (9 acres) and this year its like rope.last round was nearly $50.00 in gas. Once a week til it dries up some.
Gotta find a nice mower for the 'bota.
Great forum, many knowledgeable people.
Hey, all.
Figured as a newbie this was as good a place as any to say hey and give a brief intro.
I'm a 47 year old guy living in Middle Tennessee.
Grew up helping my father and his 10 acre garden. We grew all the regular vegetables from corn to beans. Learned a lot about composting and kept a large pile for annual use. When he wasn't helping me learn how to live off what we grew he taught me how to hunt so we always had meat available.
Took my first job at 7 years old throwing newspapers from my banana seat equipped Schwinn. At 8 they tried to fire me for being too young but those on my route raised enough Cain they let me stay.
Somewhere around 13 I took a job as a pump jockey at the local filling station. The mechanic took me under his wing and that started my life in the car business.
Once I got my drivers license it was time to work as a driver for a family owned pizza joint. The owner gave me my first car, '68 Cutlass, which was also the first engine rebuild for me. Hated that once sold the bonehead who bought it wrapped it around a pole in the first month.
Started at a VoTech mechanic school about the same time as I got my license.
Went to college and earned a B.S. degree in Advanced Technical Studies which was a hybrid between auto mechanics, engineering and management. During that time I worked evenings running batch files and backing up files on 12" floppy discs. For the record, those things hurt when one gets flung at you and makes contact.
After college got picked up by an automotive company (and then 2 others) and worked various jobs from the call center, instructor, product engineer, project manager and district manager.
Sometime during 2001 I earned my private pilot license but lost my medical 2 years ago due to chronic back problems. Such is life.
About 2 years ago found my calling as a quality engineer for a tier 1 supplier to Nissan. My primary responsibility is performing root cause analysis for the CVT in Altima and Pathfinder.
Away from work I spend time with my bride of 3 years on our 7 acre piece of heaven. We have goats, dogs, cats to keep the mice at bay and a horse. Just bought a BX2370 with FEL and MMM last week and was looking for folks with more knowledge than me and this place fits that need well.
All in all it's been a good ride with more blessings than I could ever dream of counting.
Figured as a newbie this was as good a place as any to say hey and give a brief intro.
I'm a 47 year old guy living in Middle Tennessee.
Grew up helping my father and his 10 acre garden. We grew all the regular vegetables from corn to beans. Learned a lot about composting and kept a large pile for annual use. When he wasn't helping me learn how to live off what we grew he taught me how to hunt so we always had meat available.
Took my first job at 7 years old throwing newspapers from my banana seat equipped Schwinn. At 8 they tried to fire me for being too young but those on my route raised enough Cain they let me stay.
Somewhere around 13 I took a job as a pump jockey at the local filling station. The mechanic took me under his wing and that started my life in the car business.
Once I got my drivers license it was time to work as a driver for a family owned pizza joint. The owner gave me my first car, '68 Cutlass, which was also the first engine rebuild for me. Hated that once sold the bonehead who bought it wrapped it around a pole in the first month.
Started at a VoTech mechanic school about the same time as I got my license.
Went to college and earned a B.S. degree in Advanced Technical Studies which was a hybrid between auto mechanics, engineering and management. During that time I worked evenings running batch files and backing up files on 12" floppy discs. For the record, those things hurt when one gets flung at you and makes contact.
After college got picked up by an automotive company (and then 2 others) and worked various jobs from the call center, instructor, product engineer, project manager and district manager.
Sometime during 2001 I earned my private pilot license but lost my medical 2 years ago due to chronic back problems. Such is life.
About 2 years ago found my calling as a quality engineer for a tier 1 supplier to Nissan. My primary responsibility is performing root cause analysis for the CVT in Altima and Pathfinder.
Away from work I spend time with my bride of 3 years on our 7 acre piece of heaven. We have goats, dogs, cats to keep the mice at bay and a horse. Just bought a BX2370 with FEL and MMM last week and was looking for folks with more knowledge than me and this place fits that need well.
All in all it's been a good ride with more blessings than I could ever dream of counting.
Still love and am married to the same girl since 1970. Raised 3 boys who all have completed college and came out of it debt-free. They all know how to work and manage their finances. Too late now, but looking back I can see some areas I could have done a better job as a husband and a father. It's not like I beat or berated the wife and kids, but patience is something I developed late in life. I also spent too much effort on work / earning a living, and should have spent more with the family and church.
Should probably start thinking of retirement, but it's still fun and it pays well. After working at so many different places the first year and a half out of HS that my income tax return looked like a copy of the local Yellow Pages, my stepdad came to the conclusion I'd be a job hopper and never amount to much.
I decided I wanted to be an electrician and completed an apprenticeship in 1972. Left that company in '73 and hired on with the company I still work for. After I was with them for 15 years or so, Pop thought there may be some hope for me after all.
Over the years I ran different electrical and some mechanical projects. Was tired of spending time driving and dealing with improbable schedules so when there was an opportunity to run the shops, I grabbed it. I'm responsible for three fab shops, warehouse, the tool shop and renting equipment for use on jobsites. Each shop foreman is smarter than I am at what they do so it's not that hard. They are very capable people but are not comfortable having full responsibility and making some of the decisions.
Getting out of the field was a good move for me. It's less than 1/2 hour travel to the shop and I can play with whatever I want to from CAD programs to welding machines and 5T overhead cranes.
Whenever someone needs anything odd, I get involved. For example, one of our managers came in asked for some slide-out work platforms on a scissors truck. Recently there was a need for "something kinda like an upside down clamp on drill press or something" to drill holes in the underside of train cars we're working on. The real welders were beyond swamped with a large pipe fab job, so I brought my hood to work and fashioned a tool from an 18V DeWalt drill, some scrap steel and a ratcheting load retainer bar.
The guys in the shop enjoy having me fiddle around there. It's partly because they can show their skills and help me, and partly because previous "bosses" wouldn't dare spend any time doing something with their own two hands for fear they'd soil their Dockers.
Should probably start thinking of retirement, but it's still fun and it pays well. After working at so many different places the first year and a half out of HS that my income tax return looked like a copy of the local Yellow Pages, my stepdad came to the conclusion I'd be a job hopper and never amount to much.
I decided I wanted to be an electrician and completed an apprenticeship in 1972. Left that company in '73 and hired on with the company I still work for. After I was with them for 15 years or so, Pop thought there may be some hope for me after all.
Over the years I ran different electrical and some mechanical projects. Was tired of spending time driving and dealing with improbable schedules so when there was an opportunity to run the shops, I grabbed it. I'm responsible for three fab shops, warehouse, the tool shop and renting equipment for use on jobsites. Each shop foreman is smarter than I am at what they do so it's not that hard. They are very capable people but are not comfortable having full responsibility and making some of the decisions.
Getting out of the field was a good move for me. It's less than 1/2 hour travel to the shop and I can play with whatever I want to from CAD programs to welding machines and 5T overhead cranes.
Whenever someone needs anything odd, I get involved. For example, one of our managers came in asked for some slide-out work platforms on a scissors truck. Recently there was a need for "something kinda like an upside down clamp on drill press or something" to drill holes in the underside of train cars we're working on. The real welders were beyond swamped with a large pipe fab job, so I brought my hood to work and fashioned a tool from an 18V DeWalt drill, some scrap steel and a ratcheting load retainer bar.
The guys in the shop enjoy having me fiddle around there. It's partly because they can show their skills and help me, and partly because previous "bosses" wouldn't dare spend any time doing something with their own two hands for fear they'd soil their Dockers.
Been up since 0400 gawd daymed drillers I guess they are fracking the gas well right on the ridge across from me. If you drive there its like 4 miles over the road, but I can sight to it with the rifle scope at 4 power, and almost read whats on the sides of the trucks, straight line only about 1000 yards. And they are about the same level as my place so the sound of those big arse compressors just carries across the valley,7/24 for the last freekin 4 months, and that's after the well was drilled and had to put up with that stuff for almost a year before that, and what really pisses me off I don't own the gas rights under my property!!!! OH well this too shall pass,,, right? OK Im done whining now
Well I am 36 years old have been married to my high school sweetheart for 15 years and have 2 great little girls(11 and 6) . Worked at the local turkey farm as the (killer) for many years and for some friends at a tent rental place. At 17 started a apprentice ship at a friends tool and die bussiness and quickly realized the owner was not worried if I had work or not. He was very wealthy and was a pilot and would come to work and say let's go to the seafood buffet in Hagerstown airport for lunch. I can't pay you for the trip but you get a good meal. So my girlfriends dad owned a used car dealership asked me to come on board to run parts for the other techs. Slowly worked my way into the garage turning wrenches and have been running the service department and wrenching for a long long time. Like working on the cars can't stand the general public. They are not fun to deal with nobody wants to pay it should be free cause they bought there car from us 3 years ago! Super blessed with good job a great wife who has dinner on the table every night and two awesome kids. Could not ask for more.
Lil Foot
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
1979 B7100DT Gear, Nissan Hanix N150-2 Excavator
[QUOTE can't stand the general public. They are not fun to deal with nobody wants to pay it should be free cause they bought there car from us 3 years ago! [/QUOTE]
I hear you buddy! I learned early on that I didn't have what it takes to deal with the general public. My first real job was a mom & pop hardware store, and we were required to make three attempts to make the customer happy- then we could tell them where to go & how to get there. My next job was at a large department/grocery store, where the customer was ALWAYS RIGHT.....believe me, they were virtually never right, and it drove me nuts to have to cater to them.
I hear you buddy! I learned early on that I didn't have what it takes to deal with the general public. My first real job was a mom & pop hardware store, and we were required to make three attempts to make the customer happy- then we could tell them where to go & how to get there. My next job was at a large department/grocery store, where the customer was ALWAYS RIGHT.....believe me, they were virtually never right, and it drove me nuts to have to cater to them.
Daren Todd
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
Massey Ferguson 1825E, Kubota Z121S, Box blade, Rotary Cutter
I've been a mechanic for an equipment rental company for over 10 years. Customer service is a big key. I used to get cussed pretty good when going out to job sites to fix equipment. Most of the time I would start loading my tools back on the truck and the cussing would stop. Then I would explain that I was here to fix the issue, but if they were gonna continue yelling and cussing, I have other calls to take care of, and I can go take care of those instead. That would usually defuse the situation. And they were usually fairly pleasant to deal with if they ran into another issue later on
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Well,I'm 55 years old and retired from a steel mill after 34 years in the dirty hole! Spend most of my days now in the shop working on different stuff that comes through the door.Mostly 4 wheelers,lawnmowers,brake jobs,minor welding and that sort of thing.I live in rural Ontario on Lake Superior waterfront so its really nice out here!My wife of over 27 years is still working cause she loves her job and is well paid to do it so she wants stay for 5 or 6 more years.My 24 year old son works at the same steel mill I did and owns his own home in town.My 27 year old daughter is a manager at a museum 300 miles away.Both kids are doing very well and I am very proud of both of them!I have a 1970 SS396 Chevelle that I don't drive nearly enough and recently bought a 1968 Beetle that I plan on restoring.I own 2 properties side by side on the water,one has a new 32X40 garage and the other has our home and a 28X32 shop where I do most of my work.Don't have every tool in the world but get by with what I have!People drive by,see my shop doors open and see me workin on stuff so if they need something fixed they will stop and ask,sometimes I can help others not.I do what I can to help out.This past winter was the worst I have seen in all my years out here and I tried to keep up with the snow using an old tired jeep with an old tired plow on it but winter got the best of me.Thats where the Kubota comes in.....a buddy of mine had it and was doing the township sideroads with it but wanted out of that so sold the machine to me.No problem dealing with snow now !!!!!!! Oh ya,and a 7 year old mutt named Jade too !
All I want to do is finish painting the garage,, the weather man says rain winds blablabla the sky is blue and light winds, not a bloody thing on the radar , ok I'm going to paint get everything ready to go,,
what happens,, wind, rain, now I have to put everything away,,,
stops raining everything is wet cant paint and the wind is light and the sky is blue 3 days in a row like that,,, maybe somebody doesn't want me to finish painting the dayum thing
, ok I'm going to paint get everything ready to go,, what happens,, wind, rain, now I have to put everything away
,,,stops raining everything is wet cant paint and the wind is light and the sky is blue
3 days in a row like that,,, maybe somebody doesn't want me to finish painting the dayum thingBilldog350
Member
Equipment
Kubota L3710 HST,L2230A QT,forks,Takeuchi TB125, 60" Luck Now pto Snowblower
35 yr old Uconn graduate with MIS degree. Started tinkering on go carts and engines when I was about 7-8, was doing landscaping by the time I was in my early teens, worked 3 jobs when in high school (landscaping, dishwashing at a catering facility, and working at a bank doing check encoding). Had to pay all my bills like insurance, gas, vehicle repairs, etc since I started driving, and helped work my way through college though my parents helped as well. Ended up with a few loans but paid them off recently. Started at General Electric out of college working on Financial systems and stayed with them for ~12yrs before moving over to Stanley Black and Decker where I am now. I still have two side businesses, one making shipping crates and another doing on site equipment maintenance like oil changes and light repairs on Kubota and other machines. My side businesses allowed me to buy several toys over the years like ATV's, Corvette's, Snowmobiles, etc....I was happily married for 10 yrs, divorced about 1.5yrs ago but I'm now happily engaged and enjoying time with my current Fiancee and her daughter plus my two daughters with 50% custody.
I love tinkering, welding, carpentry/woodworking, etc. I have recently built a 16x20 trex deck for my pool as well as tiled ~350sqft of my house.
My latest Kubota project is a PTO leaf blower for my B9200 HST kubota.
I love tinkering, welding, carpentry/woodworking, etc. I have recently built a 16x20 trex deck for my pool as well as tiled ~350sqft of my house.
My latest Kubota project is a PTO leaf blower for my B9200 HST kubota.
Well now Im sure somebody doesn't want the garage painted!! Got started this morning the grand kid showed up and she started on the lower parts I couldn't get,,, I can get down ok but getting back up is another story. Anyway I got as high as I could reach got the ladder out and everything was going fine,, Moved the ladder, and I of course checked on the bottom step I stood and bounced several times to make sure it was solid,,, Good up I go almost to where I need to be and the freekin ladder leg sinks in the dirt ladder goes one way me the other,, and were it not for my ninja like reflexes>>>> this fat old man would have been over the bank and onto the road and that truck would have never been able to stop!! Thank gawd for the bushes that stopped me. Now both knees hurt shoulder neck and arse,, so I figured that's enough for today, so I put some pork chops in the smoker, I don't think I will fall doing that,,,
>>>> this fat old man would have been over the bank and onto the road and that truck would have never been able to stop!! Thank gawd for the bushes that stopped me. Now both knees hurt shoulder neck and arse,, so I figured that's enough for today, so I put some pork chops in the smoker, I don't think I will fall doing that,,,