My first engineering shop experience

[blackburn mark]

brings back memories :)
I went the other way... most of my life as an engineer, good money hard work and bored shitless so i went for a job looking after disabled children in a respite home, shit money and first week at that was some scary shit but once i got my head together it was the best move id ever made, I'm not sure I was ever bored once in the five years that lasted
the way the NHS is going with closing services down i'm on my third re-posting now... I couldn't face going back on the shop floor!!!! my spine couldn't take it :(

[Fivetide]

brings back memories :)
I went the other way... most of my life as an engineer, good money hard work and bored shitless so i went for a job looking after disabled children in a respite home, shit money and first week at that was some scary shit but once i got my head together it was the best move id ever made, I'm not sure I was ever bored once in the five years that lasted
the way the NHS is going with closing services down i'm on my third re-posting now... I couldn't face going back on the shop floor!!!! my spine couldn't take it :(

You know something Mark the thought of looking after disabled children would scare me out of my mind. It takes a special person to be able to do that and I salute you. I know just looking after my own daughter who to all intents was normal was difficult enough, I don't know how you cope when they have disabilities on top of the normal childhood traits. I have a friend that I haven't talked to for a few years whose wife looked after terminally ill children, I knew her when she was a fresh faced nurse training to do the job, and I also noticed over the years how she had changed, and that when she finally had her own children she could no longer cope with the job. Children are a strange anomaly that are genetically designed to make us want to care and protect them, so working with them in any way when they have problems or are sick takes more balls than I have.

On another note I'm beginning to ache quite a lot, I don't know if anyone has noticed this but when you get older the lactic acid tends to take two or three days to create the pain and this is my third day but luckily I thought ahead and bought in the painkillers and anti-inflammatory just for this moment.

[GEOFFREY]

Loved your story. "no pain, no gain. G.

[blackburn mark]

the thought of looking after disabled children would scare me out of my mind.

you would be surprised... when I started the service was looking for males to give a more balanced gender split... we had a plumber a coal miner and me (and a shitload of nagging women)
women are well good at juggling ten thing at once and organising shit and men have the glorious ability to roll along all laid back no matter how demented the situation got (generally speaking)
learning disability children may have their brains wired up back to front but they are still brimming over with mischief and they never grow out of it.... splendid fun

if you ever get the opportunity to give it a go id advise you to stick your neck out and give it a go
wiping backsides is only a tiny fraction of the job :P

LOL that lactic acid, I used to love that shit when I was 20... it starts getting on my tits now after a couple of days, someone nicked my exhaust the other week, I fitted a new one the other day and i'm still pissing and moaning when i have to stand my ass up from the sofa :)

[Zadig]

Very enjoyable post, great write-up Fivetide, thanks.

I hope I get someone as dedicated as Blackburn Mark to wipe my arse in my dotage.

[dsc]

Thanks for the write up Fivetide, I enjoyed reading that. I think it's all good when you have various different parts to do, maybe get involved in the design a bit, getting to know a new machine etc. the repetition is what kills it (with the occasional bit of fun like shoes on fire when welding). At least that's what I remember from doing the odd few months at a metal workshop years ago.

Regards,
dsc.