Day in the Life

I get up at 5 or so, depending on the job. I make breakfast and lunches. Mark gets coffee and breakfast delivered to his pillow. (Lucky guy, huh?) Actually it's the only way I can get him awake enough to be on time for work. I take my shower, get dressed and head out to where my truck is parked and get on with my day. Sometimes it is 10 hours, sometimes less. Each day, each job is a bit different. Both location and requirements. Mostly we work in the refineries, Tesoro being the primary location. I worked last week in Walnut Creek. The canal along near Boundary Oaks Golf Course had some old culvert that was degraded and the company I worked for was doing the upgrade to concrete boxes. I hauled a bunch of dirt out to Martinez and brought some rock back for the foundation work for the boxes. The last load I did was the culvert itself. I hauled it over to a yard in Martinez as well and now until they pave the walking trail, I am done.

I was talking with a friend the other day and she remarked on my comment about driving a dump truck so I thought I would take some photos and post them here so you all could go to work with me. Kind of a "ride along" of sorts.

On the road. The view from my seat. Luckily no traffic now.

Entering the fill site for the dirt.

This is my truck. It's a bit dirty and the wheels and tank need polish, but it gets the job done.

That's me! 

My friend, Elaine who works at Diablo Valley Rock. She's way cool.

Back to Walnut Creek to load the culvert.

I had to back up the walking trail quite a ways. There is a ditch on one side and the canal on the other. Not much
room for error. When I got there, they fired up the excavator and loaded the culvert in my truck.

This is the "box" that is replacing the culvert. I think there will be a crossover for the bikes and
joggers. Lots of walking traffic. People with their kids in strollers, dogs on a leash and bicycles.

So now you know what my day is like. And why I come home and play with pictures and work on the computer. My mind races every day to finish my work day to come home to play. Of course, I make sure to do the best I can at work - hey, it puts beans on the table!  

I hope you enjoyed your ride along. I wish you all Happy Trails until the next time....