When Chris and I got married, I didn't change my name. Even in 2010, and now five years later, this seems to confuse people. I'm not militant or angry when people call me by his last name, in many ways it's easier and more convenient...you know, addressing things to both first and last names, filling out forms etc.
It's been more complicated since we headed out on the road because we've been applying for jobs together. With Amazon I felt like I had to keep reminding them that we were married so they wouldn't put us on different shifts. In Amazon's defense, they never gave any indication that they didn't understand the situation, but I was paranoid.
At our current jobs, the customer we're working for asked if we were actually married and though he didn't seem judgmental about it, he seemed confused. I tried hard not to have a "What the hell is wrong with you" look on my face. Seriously, is it that uncommon?
We spend a lot of time in the car together in our current jobs which resulted in a recent conversation about combining our names in some way.
Here are some of our ideas for combining Fitzgerald and Pinkston
Pinkgerald
Fitzton
Finkston
Or maybe an amalgamation of some or all of the letters.
O'Zinger
O'Pinger
Or how about
Chris and Sue Danger?
Or maybe we should just use that as our middle name.
Suggestions?
Monday, October 26, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
More About Our New Jobs
Last time I shared the fascinating details of how to wiggle for gas leaks. BTW---I'm starting to get some muscles in my forearms from all the wiggling.
Our current assignment is to survey the inactive services. If you decide you don't want gas service at your house any more, the gas company will remove the meter but the gas line is still there. It's just capped off. I know, I never gave it a thought before either.
Or, if a house is empty, abandoned, or ought to be condemned, it usually has inactive service. When we turn onto a street and are trying to figure out where we're supposed to go, we look first to the dumpiest location. We're usually right.
Armed with a stack of maps where each inactive service is represented by a little green square, we head off into the wilds of South Carolina. Sometimes we drive for 10 minutes just to survey one house in the country. Other times we might have several together on one street in a town.
There's a fair amount of detective work that goes into this. Some houses don't have numbers on them. Sometimes I have the map upside down.
Earlier this week I was wiggling a house and I could not find the riser (that's the tech name for the piece of pipe sticking out of the ground that would attach to a meter if one was there. Usually about 6-12" high.) I looked all around, but nothing. They'd built a deck on the back and I feared it was underneath, so I peeked below and didn't see it. Chris came and helped me, but didn't see it either. Then I noticed a tall decorative plastic thing. Yep, it was covering the riser.
Our current assignment is to survey the inactive services. If you decide you don't want gas service at your house any more, the gas company will remove the meter but the gas line is still there. It's just capped off. I know, I never gave it a thought before either.
Or, if a house is empty, abandoned, or ought to be condemned, it usually has inactive service. When we turn onto a street and are trying to figure out where we're supposed to go, we look first to the dumpiest location. We're usually right.
Armed with a stack of maps where each inactive service is represented by a little green square, we head off into the wilds of South Carolina. Sometimes we drive for 10 minutes just to survey one house in the country. Other times we might have several together on one street in a town.
There's a fair amount of detective work that goes into this. Some houses don't have numbers on them. Sometimes I have the map upside down.
Earlier this week I was wiggling a house and I could not find the riser (that's the tech name for the piece of pipe sticking out of the ground that would attach to a meter if one was there. Usually about 6-12" high.) I looked all around, but nothing. They'd built a deck on the back and I feared it was underneath, so I peeked below and didn't see it. Chris came and helped me, but didn't see it either. Then I noticed a tall decorative plastic thing. Yep, it was covering the riser.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Our New Jobs
Sorry I haven't been a very diligent blogger. A few weeks ago I mentioned that we'd applied for new jobs. Well, we got them and have been working for a couple weeks now. When we get home, I'm pretty tired and sort of sit and stare for most of the evening. But, we're getting into the groove and feeling a bit peppier.
So, what are the new jobs?
We're natural gas meter surveyors.
Well, that explains it all, right?
Every year, the government mandates that 20% of all active natural gas service lines be surveyed for leaks. The company we work for contracts w/the local natural gas providers and sends crews (like us) out to perform those surveys.
We each have a piece of equipment called a flame pack. It weighs about 6 pounds and detects gas leaks. We take our flame packs and walk along the gas line moving it back and forth and then we go to the meter at the house and check it for leaks.
Basically, you wiggle the flame pack back and forth. So, I call it The Wiggler. And if I have checked a service for leaks, I tell Chris "I wiggled it."
I know you all sleep better knowing I'm responsible for gas line safety.
So, what are the new jobs?
We're natural gas meter surveyors.
Well, that explains it all, right?
Every year, the government mandates that 20% of all active natural gas service lines be surveyed for leaks. The company we work for contracts w/the local natural gas providers and sends crews (like us) out to perform those surveys.
We each have a piece of equipment called a flame pack. It weighs about 6 pounds and detects gas leaks. We take our flame packs and walk along the gas line moving it back and forth and then we go to the meter at the house and check it for leaks.
Basically, you wiggle the flame pack back and forth. So, I call it The Wiggler. And if I have checked a service for leaks, I tell Chris "I wiggled it."
I know you all sleep better knowing I'm responsible for gas line safety.
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