It's difficult to describe work. It's familiar, but a lot of new procedures and people to get to know. It's hard work, but often includes a lot of standing around. My first week of work, I clocked 45 hours. This week, only 36 hours (we didn't work on Monday because it was too rainy). I really am enjoying it at Bartlett. The guys I work with are very nice in explaining things to me, or helping me out, but they all smoke and swear a lot. For now, I'm mostly doing groundsmen stuff like hauling branches to the chipper, doing pole pruning from the ground, or making sure the climbers have the equipment they need. Sometimes I get to do more fun things like using chainsaws, hedge trimmers, or the bucket aerial lift.
I wake up around 5:30 (plus a snooze or two), get dressed, have breakfast and pack a lunch, and head out to work around 6:40 to get there around 6:50. We work until we're done with the job, so I normally work between 8 and 9.5 hours a day. Twice it's been longer than that. I usually come home, take a shower, wish fervently I could take a nap, but instead get ready for institute, making dinner with Kara, or whatever I have planned for that evening. Then around 9:30 or 10 I get ready and go to bed. It's a thrilling life. At some point, I'm hoping that I'll have more energy after work and can go running regularly after work, and then post something clever on a blog, practice the piano, and still find time to be social. I'm working up to that though.
For a really extensive description of work, I guess you could read my work blog at www.quercusphellos.blogspot.com. It's written more for tree and landscape management people, so beware it will be quite nerdy. Tree nerdy. The address is the scientific name for willow oak. Yep.
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