And again...

I was laid off a couple weeks ago from my second carpentry job at Hild Brothers Construction. I worked there for a couple months and was laid off because of lack-of-work issues. It kinda sucks but I'll find another job soon. I'm remaining optimistic about it. God knows what He is doing. All I have to do is continue to do my part.

Well it's up to God now

I was laid off work today. BUT I'm not going to give up just because something goes wrong. I'm going to try my hardest and get another job. I need to for Melody, and for myself. But ya. It was fun while it lasted.

All is going well

Well it's the month of the end of my probation. On the 19th or 20th, I'll be a REAL employee of S.A. Lewis construction. There are a couple things I want to talk about in this entry. First I want to list an awesome thing that Dave (one of the carpenters I work with) said today. It was pretty epic! Dave was mixing concrete with a garden hoe. Then SNAP! The wooden handle breaks off) He says, "NOOOOOOO!!!!!! NOT MY HOE!!!!!!!!!! We've been together for YEARS!!!!!!!" I laughed for about a good 10 minutes about that one. The second thing I want to talk about is how it seems that I am getting along with everyone lately. Not very many confrontations which is a nice change of pace. Well I'm heading out. And there is a third thing too!

My first little accident.

This is not going to be a lengthy blog entry by any means but I had my first little accident. No nothing is missing but I did probably kill some brain cells when I cut my head open. I was walking at a pretty good rate of speed when out of nowhere, the top of my head met the edge of a 2x4 I blacked out for a sec and had to sit down for a second but then I just went back to working. I didn't even know I cut it open, until today when I reached up, felt that it still hurt and felt a descent sized scab up there. I was like, "Whoa...well shoot!!" lol.

God is so very good!

Well I got a job with S.A. Lewis. I had my interview on the 21st and started work on the 22nd. Even though the field comes with a lot of soreness and pain, it's totally worth it to be working in a field that I love!

Very Exciting News

While I was having my eyes operated on, all the sudden my hip started to vibrate because I was getting a VERY exciting phone call. Obviously I couldn't answer because they had presumably sharp instruments ON and NEAR my eyes. So after the operation, I checked my phone expecting a call from my lovely fianceé but no. Instead it was a message from S.A. Lewis Construction. Who is one of the "big three" in central Illinois. So my eyes, blurry as they were, were bugging out of my head and I was very excited indeed. So I have an interview with them next week sometime and I'll let you all know what the outcome will be.

Another contractor possibility

So when I checked my phone around 4, I discovered that a contractor had called me. Kent Pope builders of D-town. So I called them back and they want an interview with me soon. He's thinking about opening up another position and he thought that I would be a fit for the job. Just thought I'd let ya know.

A Bright New Future!

A few days ago, I went on a calling spree. I called over 2 dozen contractors seeing if anyone was hiring. My very first positive response came from Haworth Homes. I was very surprised how chipper she was so that instantly was a good sign to me. (This happened Thursday). I asked if I would be able to come in Friday and hand in my resume' since I was coming to Charleston anyway. She said a very excited yes and we hung up the phone.

Friday came and I found myself very excited to go turn in my resume' and fill out an application. Before I left, I called once again just to double-check to see if my coming in would be ok. She said, "Definitely. I'm always here." So when I got there, I walked in the door and I saw this guy drawing blueprints by hand. It was really cool to see someone do that. I stood there a little bit and the lady on the phone came into the room. "Ryan?" "Yes, ma'am." "Great! Darin, this is the guy I was talking to you about! He's the one who is looking to be hired here. So Ryan, what kind of experience in building do you have?"

When I told here that I helped build three habitat for humanity houses, she asked me if I had done anything else. I told her that I worked on the Telluride Apartment complex in downtown Iowa City, she asked me who my employer was. "Mark Wagner." (Her reaction blew me away!) "Oh I know Mark! My fiance and I are close friends of his!" My jaw dropped to the floor. I asked if she was kidding but she wasn't. It was totally a God think that I came here just because I have a good feeling that she's a Christian, and we instantly had something in common. Then we went to do the interview.

We sat down and she started to ask me the standard questions as I started to fill out my application. I answered all of them completely and succinctly. After she asked her last question that was job related, we just started talking. An hour and a half passed and I was still in there just talking. As we were rapping things up, I said, "I'm sorry to ask this, but I've had some unfortunate occurrences with possible jobs calling me back so I'm just wondering when I could be expecting a call." She just smiled at me and she told me that I could expect a call later that afternoon. I was very surprised because she ACTUALLY meant what she said! (I've had that happen when people said they would call me and they didn't, so it wouldn't have been a surprise. lol)

Then Melody and I drove to Sullivan to look at a house. (Yes, we ACTUALLY looked at a house. lol.) While there, I received a call from Haworth. They told me that I was basically hired. When I asked them what they meant my "basically", she told me that the owner of the company was expected to come back later that evening but he ended up not coming in. So they are going to have a meeting on Monday to decide if I'm hired on with the company. I'm just praying that God can work through me and get on with the company which He wills.

Things go...but things also come

As far as the jobs go, I have yet to hear from Mundstock and Wolfer. I am not working from OE Schrock because they already filled the position they needed. I am still waiting on the other two but it just so happens that there are three more strong possibilities. RP Lumber (which I will talk about in a little bit), Prestige homes, and Trimble construction. I don't really know much about Prestige but I do know that they are going to be VERY busy in a couple months. I have already gone and interviewed at both RP Lumber and Trimble and I felt really good after each one.

I actually interviewed with RP this morning and Wendy (the lady in charge of hiring for the Decatur branch), we were just talking about what I would want to do there. I just said that "It would be a really good transitional job for a few reasons. It would get me better associated with the trade on this end (where to get the wood ordered from, etc.), it would make me better versed in the different things needed when building a house and how to work them, and I could even see who else to apply for judging by how much material is being sent out to a site.

Also during the interview she said that Prestige was going to be building 3 or 4 houses this summer/year and that they do a good job staying moderately busy. So I'm going to call them in a couple months and see what happens there.

Really when it comes down to it, my favorite choice is Trimble construction. The owner is very good to his employees, gets work done right, AND he does a little bit of everything. He said that if this new guy doesn't work out, then his son is willing to give me a try. It's kind of a family business. The father owns it and oversees much of the construction, the son runs the large team, and the daughter is the safety inspector. It's a pretty neat setup. The thing that really stands out with Trimble is that they work on a house from the foundation all the way up to the shingles on the roof. Basically, it's what I did in Iowa on the Habitat for Humanity projects. Trimble even does some concrete work. If I get the opportunity to work for them, I'll be very excited indeed!

3 JOB POSSIBILITIES

I think it's neat how I seemingly have 3 different places that I would want to go; each being in a different city. They are in Decatur, Springfield, and Arthur.

Well the one in decatur is this guy who is going to start building a whole subdivision and judging by the size of how big this is going to be, he may need some serious help. The other one is in Springfield and that is Mundstock construction. Each one of the employers are really great guys. Very respectable and each one sounded positive when I talked to them each. I'm very encouraged right now. There is also OE Schrock in Arther and I found out that I am in the TOP 5 applicants and once they open up hiring, I'm hoping for an interview. God has been very good to me. Just thought I would let you know what was happening. :)

The Search for a Job

The foreboding question in my mind is obviously when I'm going to get a job, where is it going to be, and what field will it be in? Woodworking or Carpentry. There are pros and cons to each. They are as follows:

Carpentry

• Pros

- Pay is better

- More variety in sites

- More of an accomplished feeling at the end of the day

- More use of power tools

- Get to work with more varieties of materials (shingles, wood, drywall, etc.)

• Cons

- More things can kill you (has the highest death rate of any working profession)

- Possibly driving further which will cause wear and tare on your car

Woodworking

• Pros

- Get to work in more detail

- Can see the use for each board cut

- More aesthetically pleasing work

- Easier to sell

• Cons

- Paid less

- Very expensive tools

- Very time consuming

- And let's not forget those splinters

Those are all of them that I could think of. lol. Really when it comes down to it, I'd take anything since I've gone to school for both of those. It's just that times right now are so horrible for construction workers and getting hired on is kinda slim. That's why I've put my resume' out to so many contractors and possible employers. I know that I'd take just about anything now. lol. I just need to keep on trusting that God knows what is best for me. Although that's hard sometimes, that's when I need to trust the most. He knows what to do.

Carpentry stories thus far

Well, I went to Carpentry school at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the 2008-2009 semesters and went to the AWA (The American Woodworkers Academy) in late 2009-2010.

Ok. Enough of the boring stuff. Onto the stories.

I can't really remember when this happened but this story takes place at the Telluride Apartment Complex in downtown Iowa City. It was a colder day and was one of my first days on the job site. (which lasted about 1.5 weeks due to lack of needing me. lol) On construction sites, there are always new materials being delivered. This day was no different. Literally a ton of wood studs (beams) were being brought in. Mark Wagner, my boss, wanted me on the top floor of the complex. He told me to go over and cut some studs at a certain length. So I grabbed the number of studs that he wanted to be cut, and took them over to the sawhorses. I finished cutting them and started to walk over to Mark. All the sudden, we all hear this GIANT BOOM! I turn around and see the crane that was lifting the wood onto the job site, SMASH threw the wall we just got done building. It was actually kinda comical how quickly and how many of the workers had their camera phones out, taking pictures of the crane operator. It was his error because he forgot to put the stabilizers out. Then it occurred to me that not even 5-10 seconds before it came crashing threw, I was standing RIGHT...THERE. If I had stayed there for a little while longer, I probably would have been killed or severely injured. God is very good to me.

But as for right now, I am looking for a job. I have applied to over 30 different companies. I was even hired on for a total of -1 days. What do I mean by this? Well the day before I started, Mr. Randall called me and said, "Hey Ryan. This is ______ Randall from Randall's Custom Cabinets. I'm afraid I have some bad news. Three of my job bids fell through this morning and I don't have enough work for you. [Here the good part] I hope that's ok with you." lol. Ya, it was juuuuuust fine. lol. NOT. That same day, I started to look for more jobs. I have a few strong leads and look forward to the calls.