I survived week two!

Monday we went around to some weekly clients and visited with a neat guy at the city who's in charge of a whole lot of things involved in stormwater.  Tuesday I arrived at the office at 5:45 am to meet with S and we started on our business trip.  A few months ago they had tested the water at a bunch of municipal airports and some of the test points had results that were too high in a couple of metals.  So our trip was to retest those points and see if the problem was resolved.  S knows a TON about chemistry and our company and farming and engines and all sorts of stuff.  We did not run out of conversation topics.  He grew up in a rural area like I did so we naturally have a lot in common.  The actual testing part didn't take all that long.  I learned a lot about the proper way to take samples and notes and stuff. 

The first day we made it all the way to Little Rock.  We tested there in the morning and headed back to Tulsa.  We did my HAZWOPER training in the car.  I had to fail the pretest and then we went over the questions and he taught me the things I needed to know in order to answer them correctly.  Then we did some scenarios and he helped me learn the information I needed and the way to go about the thought process so I can quote a job accurately and test the material accurately and safely.  I felt much better after we were done.  I have enough basic knowledge to keep me safe in many situations and I know enough that I can go look at MSDS sheets and understand what I'm looking at.  So that's good.  I felt uncomfortable in a few situations the first week because I wasn't sure what to do with the chemicals or what the precautions should be but now I know all that.

S apparently thought I was pretty neat.  He said he was impressed with how quickly I apply what I learn into new situations and he was impressed with my perceptiveness and helpfulness while we sampled.  He said that when he would look around for something I would figure out what he was looking for and hand it to him, and then next time I would have it ready before he even needed to look for it.  I guess that's not normal?  I just have a need to be helpful.  It's the upside to my over-sensitive nature.

We finished our trip early and came home Wednesday evening.  I picked up DH and we had dinner with S and M and M's DH.  My DH was happy to finally meet everybody.  Thursday M picked me up at 10:30 and we started on our crazy Thursday.  She was supposed to come by at 10 but got caught up with one of the bosses and then we got phone calls and emails and emergencies and fires to put out and problems to fix all day long.  It was crazy.  We were still trying to get the samples packed up when F, the courier showed up at 4:30.  He hung out while we finished up and then I had all my hours for the week.  Another Friday off!

I slept a lot on Friday and watched tv.  It still baffles me how sitting in a car all day can be so tiring.  But I'm also using my brain a whole lot more than normal and that uses up energy as well. 

I now have just about everything I need to do my job effectively.  My laptop came on Thursday, I got a computer bag and a wallet for the petty cash and receipts, and the truck is well on it's way to being safe to drive.  M took it to the shop while I was gone and had the brakes fixed and the battery posts cleaned.  I picked up the new side mirror, windshield wipers, and tailight last night and will install those this afternoon after the rain moves out.  Next month I get to learn how to change the oil and then the only big thing left to do is the transmission service.  It will be nice when the truck can go from 1st to 2nd gear without a big painful jerk. 

So now it's time to clean the house and take DH to work.  Maybe I can get some pictures up on here later.