Pass the Hardhat

Alright! We set up trench supports in a construction site up in the hills of Newport Beach, which surprisingly looked like a dessert.

Construction site looking down on Newport Beach.

Truck full of trench braces.

I pretty much just managed the chains and ran around being hardcore.

Me about to release the chains.

[Originally posted on Rebel Leady Boy, June 23, 2005]

The Cone Graveyard

There's no cones

Like snow cones.

Like no cones

That I know.

[Originally posted on The Real World...Blogger Style!, June 23, 2005]

Fan Hat

It's a hat:

Hat.

It's a fan:

Fan.

It's a fan hat:

Fan hat.

A hat that collapses into a fan! A fan that expands into a hat!
Folds up to fit in your back pocket!
Beat the heat in style.

Aerial view.

Thank you, Chinatown!

[Originally posted on Rebel Leady Boy, June 22, 2005]

Rebel Leady Orange

 I set up so many signs and cones last week. Truckloads of them at multiple sites. The night set ups are a pretty hazardous, especially with traffic happening, but it's fun.

Truck full of traffic equipment.

Me at the traffic blinker parking lot.

Since all my work clothes are dark, they gave me a cool orange t-shirt with the previously mentioned logo of a bicep coming out of a truck & holding a steel plate on it, so I will treasure that little souvenir.

[Originally posted on Rebel Leady Boy, June 18, 2005]

True Security Guard Fantasies

In the late 1980s, I had started college and was working a third-shift security guard job in a factory, from about 11:00 in the evening until 7:00 in the morning.

There weren’t too many responsibilities; I would just make hourly patrols. I think it was an insurance thing for them. I liked it because I could study between rounds.

I only bring this up because I remembered another guard there named Werner. He was one of those out-of-shape idiot wannabe cops who thought a low-level security guard job was the same thing as joining a SWAT team.

Anyway, I only bring up Werner because of his messed-up fantasy life. I remember one particular shift change when he started rambling on and on about how he’d love for somebody to try to break into his house so he could shoot them legally. If they weren’t armed, he said, he would put another gun in their hand to justify the shooting.

One night, he drew me a diagram of his fantasy home, which included a large pyramid structure with a hot tub at the top. All three sides of the pyramid were made up of stairs, like this:

Werner's fantasy love-spa.

It was really important to him that the pyramid be tall enough so that he could survey the entire surrounding area from the comfort of his hot tub, ensuring that no one could ever sneak up on him. I couldn't quite understand why he felt so strongly about this, particularly in the context of the hot tub.

As if that weren't strange enough, he shared a fantasy where he was in the hot tub with his wife, surrounded by a stash of guns just in case he needed them. Suddenly, he notices someone trying to sneak up the side of his pyramid.

He said he would climb out of the hot tub, ask his wife to tie a towel around his exposed privates, and then shoot the intruder without hesitation.

As the fantasy continued, more people appeared, coming from all sides of the pyramid. He was being swarmed! He dealt with the situation by firing at everyone, all while his wife kept handing him fresh ammunition.

Werner's action sequence.

???? - What kind of fucked up fantasy is that?

He also was 100% POSITIVE that he could write an amazing screenplay based around that scenario. Maybe that is why he was so concerned about covering up his privates. I don't know why he would care otherwise.

Poor stupid Werner.

[Originally posted on Rebel Leady Boy, June 16, 2005]

Rebel Leady HQ

I begin each morning in this little pocket of blue collar sentiment:

Rebel Leady Strip Mall.

Labor Ready is on the far left. On the far right is a barber shop with the entire outside wall painted like an American flag. In the center is the World of Warriors gun shop. I went in there once. They also sell walking sticks.

I’m planning to visit Alaska in August, so I think I’ll keep this going until then. The work site I’ve been on all month asked me if I wanted a full time job there, but between finishing my MLIS and needing to take a couple weeks off in August, I opted out, though I was conflicted. I know they don't grant much personal leave, especially so soon after starting. It would pay better, but it’s exhausting work and I’m not sure how it would mesh with finishing my Master’s program. I ultimately decided to keep the flexibility day labor until I finish school, then I'll see what kinds of options I have.

[Originally posted on Rebel Leady Boy, June 7, 2005]