. . . you take more vacation pictures of geodetic monuments than of your family
you notice that everyone else on the job gets paid more than you.
Or when my former girlfriend is taking me to the ER with a 105 fever and I'm going in and out of delirium/consciousness but have the where with all to call out DOT carsonite staubs every half mile. It was about a 15 mile drive and I imagine she was about tired of hearing from my semi-conscious a...ssss. We get to the ER and she's going to get a wheel chair to bring me in. I wouldn't stand for that (no pun intended) and tried to amble myself in. That didn't work. I was still looking for some traverse points and such. I really don't remember too much about it except for the ex giving a hard time about talking about spotting those DOT things and looking for points outside the hospital. I joked about "knocking on Heaven's door" at one point but no one else found it funny at all. The ER doc pretty much let me know I was about to knock on Heaven's door for real. Although he appreciated my good humor he wasn't finding my situation any too dam funny what so ever. Still pretty much delirious I'm still talking about those DOT markers I was seeing on the trip there. The doc is trying to question about my work, eating habits and such. How much did I drink that day (just 1 beer by the way). I was blabbering about surveying. After a few x-rays and a serious dose of antibiotics he sends me home. I don't remember much after that except for Donna giving me hell (I can't use the full language) about shut up about surveying. I didn't realize how bad off I was at the time nor did I realize how much others don't really care to hear about my surveying stuff.
And how exactly did I fall into this crowd anyhow? Oh yeah, I was a carpenter working with a buddy building a workshop for a retired surveyor who mentioned he needed a website. He asks my buddy while we were working one day and my bud says "right there is your man!". I was busy doing something else and the man hit me up about it. So I built his website after finishing off all the electrical work in the shop we built. Then found a place to announce the site and left my contact info since he wasn't internet saavy. About a week later we were invited to speak at the western NC chapter meeting in Asheville (not far from when we lived). Then some of you all found out my programming skills and hit me up some programs. A couple months later someone offers me a job at a engineering-surveying firm. Had nothing else better to do at the time so I accepted. (Mom was dam happy to hear I wasn't going to be logging anymore.) What a perfect job! Mathematics and I get to work outdoors all day!!! I'm all in!!! Well.. someone forgot to tell me about p..sssed of neighbors with guns, bees, snakes, bears etc. Actually the snakes never bothered me. Well I take that back. A big ole monster king snake was trying to me one afternoon. I was on the rod/front-sight that day and he in the road about time for school to let out so I figured I'd help him by getting him out of the road. He didn't like nor did my PC and gunner that day. PC hollers at me on the radio about what I'm doing. He was watching through the gun but didn't see that big snake I was dealing with. We were doing a topo and boundary that day so I/we needed centerline shots, edge of pavement etc. The snake was slap in the centerline. I finally shooed him off on his way and went about business. Oh yeah, there is pin to be found right about where I was. I had the pin-finder with me and we had cords on it. So now it's time to find the pin. I found right quick and guess who else did? There was that monster snake all coiled up nice and neat all around it. Before the PC started to holler at me on the radio I let him I'd be busy for a bit dealing with this monster. Apparently snakes aren't so dumb. He remembered me shoo'ing him off the road. Now I've to shoe him off again. He wasn't so obliging the first time and the second time he's dam straight wanting a fight and had no problem bringing it at me. Only had a short 2-section rod at the moment. I put it down and got a big stick from the woods. PC starts giving a hard time on the radio again and by now I'm PO'ed and the snake is trying to strike. By then he is seeing this through the gun and getting a kick out it. "Well, did you find that pin?" "Yes.....[many expletives]... I found the pin!" Trying to get that snake off that was far worse than getting him off road. He was seriously mad and tried to hit me many times. Good thing I got that big stick. He was striking that so hard he'd sure would have knocked the rod out of my hand.
But am I surveyor... I reckon so.
When traveling with SWMBO and you see flagging on a tree, you have to stop and have a look see.
...conversely, when strolling in a town you point out every fire hydrant that is either too high or to low, AKA not set to proper grade. Most likely the contractor did that and not the surveyor, right.
Only thing we lack to be real nerds is pocket protectors and black horned rim glasses with tape holding the nose part together.... 😉
...you research current and superseded highway R/W plans- on the route you traveled or are traveling- while on vacation (done it).
:good:
Been there, done that
guilty............
You catch yourself pacing, (Counting your steps) as you walk down the beach to fish.
N
