This is not going to plan.
Or any backup plan.
Plan Z: make a better plan.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
I Broke My Own Rule and I Didn't Even Finish
I have had the rare experience as a female, to have been working with almost solely men for the last year... there was a three month period in the last 12 months where I wasn't working at all... that was a whole other unrelated catastrophe... anyway.
It is truly an experience to work in a so called mans world and be the only female. There were of course other women who came and went, only 2 on my team of about 250. I worked on a mine so the majority of jobs were labourers (what a job... so much work- the title gives such workers no justice), carpenters, rodbusters, surveyors, pipefitters, welders ect. and for about every 30 workers there are foreman, leadhands, general foreman and each of them reports to select supervisors- for my specific team, that makes about 300 people.
There is an administrator and an engineer that are women, myself, a purchasing coordinator turned carpenter, a labourer who acts as a runner (drives back and forth to town retrieving items as directed) and two other females who either quit or were fired.
My company had about 400 people on the job and I reported to (until I went on the tools) every engineer, project coordinator, project manager, supervisor and foreman- I knew almost everybody (and had all of the gossip- Ladies let me tell you- MEN ARE WAY WORSE FOR CATTY GOSSIP AND GAMES THAN WOMEN, at least women eventually call each other out TRUTHFULLY). The job site itself has over 2000 people working on it and it is not quite at the peak of construction.
There are little things that you handle, as a friendly and attractive female, on a daily basis; marriage proposals called out to you as you walk past men you've never seen, being stared at, being asked out on dates by strangers, being followed around in camp, receiving creepy texts inviting you to Tinder and other similar sites, being asked for naked photos out of the blue, being told that the way you grip the shaft of your hammer is sexy, being asked to walk through the field to bring the guys morale up ect..
There are other other little things that you also have to handle like appreciating the guys not farmer blowing their noses (where you plug one nostril and blow your snot on the ground and then do the other side *vomit*) or spitting in front of you, guys never speaking ill of women they've been with recently, offers to help you carry heavy tools and lumber or help you up a ladder or getting several suggestions on how to do a task in an easier way- patience is not a virtue of mine but for the most part, the guys and men that I work with easily remain patient with myself and each other...
...Which is hard to do. There is a certain amount of pressure on each individual to perform their designated task quickly and perfectly on the first try.
I recently had the opportunity to work with a crew that was comprised of guys who have either been friends since childhood or had worked together for several years. The nature of Industrial Carpentry industry is such that you may work with one person for 1 project and then never work with them ever again and would be lucky to have a boss that invited your from job to job. It says something about that crews leadership that they have all continued to strive to work as one successful unit.
Aaaaanyway. As you can imagine, when you're working away from home and news headlines are about war, ISIS and shootings, conversation is often about when the next beers will be drank, what so and so's kids and partner are up to and sex. Guys do not care about your recent pedicure nor do they want to mull over how you should get your hair cut... mmmmm why not- we could kill hours talking about that stuff! LET'S DO MAKEOVERS!!!
I'm sure ladies, that you can also imagine, that being one of the select females surrounded by relatively fit manly men swinging hammers, sweating and lifting shit, sex crosses my mind more than it ever has- such a problem. Definitely not a problem that my vibrator can't handle though-thank gawd!
Sleeping with your boss or coworker is never a good idea. I've dated people that I've worked with before- I even lost a job over it when the employer found out and by then we were in a full blown relationship.
However, I have noticed that it is completely acceptable to for men and guys to sleep with their female coworkers or employees but it is not acceptable for females to do the same (uhhh when you're away from home, working and staying in camp, where exactly are these guys going to get vagina from?... their female coworkers because there is literally no one else).
I have learned as well, that there are some rules that most men, at least out in the construction industry, follow that society would consider unfair or immoral... let me fill you in:
-if you're single, it doesn't matter the relationship status of the other person you're intimate- unless you're a female
-if you're in a different area code then your partner, it doesn't count as cheating- unless you're female
-you can sleep with as many people as you want and it's congratulatory- unless you're a female (uuhh slut)
-talking dirty about sex in general is completely appropriate- unless your a girl and then it's gross half of the time
-sleeping with the boss is completely okay as long as it's on the down low and they never change their mind about you - unless you're a female
That world is a man's world... and it really hinders my sex life, as I refuse to let it hinder my reputation.
It is truly an experience to work in a so called mans world and be the only female. There were of course other women who came and went, only 2 on my team of about 250. I worked on a mine so the majority of jobs were labourers (what a job... so much work- the title gives such workers no justice), carpenters, rodbusters, surveyors, pipefitters, welders ect. and for about every 30 workers there are foreman, leadhands, general foreman and each of them reports to select supervisors- for my specific team, that makes about 300 people.
There is an administrator and an engineer that are women, myself, a purchasing coordinator turned carpenter, a labourer who acts as a runner (drives back and forth to town retrieving items as directed) and two other females who either quit or were fired.
My company had about 400 people on the job and I reported to (until I went on the tools) every engineer, project coordinator, project manager, supervisor and foreman- I knew almost everybody (and had all of the gossip- Ladies let me tell you- MEN ARE WAY WORSE FOR CATTY GOSSIP AND GAMES THAN WOMEN, at least women eventually call each other out TRUTHFULLY). The job site itself has over 2000 people working on it and it is not quite at the peak of construction.
There are little things that you handle, as a friendly and attractive female, on a daily basis; marriage proposals called out to you as you walk past men you've never seen, being stared at, being asked out on dates by strangers, being followed around in camp, receiving creepy texts inviting you to Tinder and other similar sites, being asked for naked photos out of the blue, being told that the way you grip the shaft of your hammer is sexy, being asked to walk through the field to bring the guys morale up ect..
There are other other little things that you also have to handle like appreciating the guys not farmer blowing their noses (where you plug one nostril and blow your snot on the ground and then do the other side *vomit*) or spitting in front of you, guys never speaking ill of women they've been with recently, offers to help you carry heavy tools and lumber or help you up a ladder or getting several suggestions on how to do a task in an easier way- patience is not a virtue of mine but for the most part, the guys and men that I work with easily remain patient with myself and each other...
...Which is hard to do. There is a certain amount of pressure on each individual to perform their designated task quickly and perfectly on the first try.
I recently had the opportunity to work with a crew that was comprised of guys who have either been friends since childhood or had worked together for several years. The nature of Industrial Carpentry industry is such that you may work with one person for 1 project and then never work with them ever again and would be lucky to have a boss that invited your from job to job. It says something about that crews leadership that they have all continued to strive to work as one successful unit.
Aaaaanyway. As you can imagine, when you're working away from home and news headlines are about war, ISIS and shootings, conversation is often about when the next beers will be drank, what so and so's kids and partner are up to and sex. Guys do not care about your recent pedicure nor do they want to mull over how you should get your hair cut... mmmmm why not- we could kill hours talking about that stuff! LET'S DO MAKEOVERS!!!
I'm sure ladies, that you can also imagine, that being one of the select females surrounded by relatively fit manly men swinging hammers, sweating and lifting shit, sex crosses my mind more than it ever has- such a problem. Definitely not a problem that my vibrator can't handle though-thank gawd!
Sleeping with your boss or coworker is never a good idea. I've dated people that I've worked with before- I even lost a job over it when the employer found out and by then we were in a full blown relationship.
However, I have noticed that it is completely acceptable to for men and guys to sleep with their female coworkers or employees but it is not acceptable for females to do the same (uhhh when you're away from home, working and staying in camp, where exactly are these guys going to get vagina from?... their female coworkers because there is literally no one else).
I have learned as well, that there are some rules that most men, at least out in the construction industry, follow that society would consider unfair or immoral... let me fill you in:
-if you're single, it doesn't matter the relationship status of the other person you're intimate- unless you're a female
-if you're in a different area code then your partner, it doesn't count as cheating- unless you're female
-you can sleep with as many people as you want and it's congratulatory- unless you're a female (uuhh slut)
-talking dirty about sex in general is completely appropriate- unless your a girl and then it's gross half of the time
-sleeping with the boss is completely okay as long as it's on the down low and they never change their mind about you - unless you're a female
That world is a man's world... and it really hinders my sex life, as I refuse to let it hinder my reputation.
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