On the work front

I realize I haven't really written about work at all, what it is that I do, what projects I'm working on. Sometimes it's hard for me to even put my job description into words, which hardly makes sense because I spend about 75% of my time writing reports. Speaking of not making sense, not sure how I got a writing profession out of an engineering degree. Still trying to figure that one out.

I work for a multi-disciplinary engineering consulting firm. My group specializes in environmental infrastructure (water/sewer supply and treatment). I don't do much of that, mostly I do water resources (storm drainage, hydrology, floodplain assessments). It's some computer modeling, some AutoCAD, some GIS, and a LOT of report writing.

This week I'm writing a feasibility report on water and sewer supply alternatives for a proposed prison expansion job and when that's not completely getting hacked by corporate politics, I'm writing a water supply assessment for a community that conveys its entire water source for 50,000 people in a 150-year old flume. Should it get taken out by accident, supplies could potentially run out for the community within a week. Pretty scary... but again, local govt politics keeping any back-up supplies from getting constructed to prevent that from happening. So I think it's all pretty interesting, how you can't really get away from politics no matter what side of the job you're on.

Lately I've been really discouraged to see the turnover rate in our industry. Since civil/environmental engineering is heavily dependent on development, once that slows, you'd better either work for a big firm that can move you around, or have a beefy resume to fall back on. In my case, my company is large but office is fairly small and my department tiny. I was trained by someone who made me as self-sufficient as possible, and I'm convinced that's the only reason I still have a job. Very few engineers can work for several depts at one time with little supervision. Oh, and if all else fails, I can write a damn good report.

I suppose my advice to others in this industry is to be adaptable, take initiative to keep yourself indispensible whether that's by getting on a variety of projects (however unexciting) and getting as many trainings, certifications, etc. to stay ahead of the curve. Our education doesn't stop after college, there's even tons to learn from the people who got to their positions w/out a degree but w/ experience alone. It's those people that have all the job security.

I really hope all my dear friends who have fallen victim to the rise and fall of the economy and our industry find that perfect job really soon. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and my eyes out for hiring opportunities!

On the home front

I borrowed this picture from a website called pawsitivepuptraining.com because it best describes the horror I came home to last Tuesday.

As horrified as I was, grabbing the camera and snapping a picture was not high on the priorities list. Normally our dogs (2-yr old puggles, Hazel and Littlest) hang out in the kennel while we’re gone at work. They also sleep in the kennel and occasionally in the bed, though no bed is big enough for 2 (even little) dogs that want to sleep on your feet and legs, so that rarely happens.

Occasionally I’ve thought to myself ‘what would the dogs do if they ever got out of the kennel during the day’… well I found out last week and the answer is: chew up everything they can get their grubby paws on and greedy little mouths around.

Somehow, the boyfriend didn’t properly close the kennel and they roamed free and pillaged our small apartment for about 8 hours. How would a dog remove a cap from a sharpie w/out fingers you might ask? Well I’m not sure, but I know now that it can be done. I will be wondering how permanent that marker is when I attempt to bleach it out of my white blanket.

Try digging out the remaining pieces of your Planet Earth DVD set from their teeth and then tell me again now having dogs is training for having kids? Not sure how that works, or how you can feel justified in punishing the dog hours after you find the poop on your newly shampooed carpet.

Either way, the child training is only making me more terrified at the thought of children unless they one day come already 4-years old with pottie-skills and a vocabulary. Until then, I’ll let the dogs teach me the virtues of patience (one day I’ll learn it, I swear) and the beauty of having a partner who willing to help clean the mess AND do all the disciplining. The damn things are cute though.