I took a new part time job as an inspector for the construction of a power line through a good portion of the state we live in. I am working about half time and that feels pretty good right now. I think when the dirt starts to move and the construction really starts (they are just doing survey and design right now because of environmental constraints) I will be working almost full time. Time will tell about that.
I think it is really funny that I went to school to be a Forester so that I could work work in the woods all the time. That worked well for the first ten or eleven years. Then I was promoted (?) into a more managerial position and lost most of the field work part of the job. I still fought wild land fires so still got to spend a lot of the summer out in the boonies. As time passed I got another promotion which put me in charge of about 500,000 acres of your National Forest. That was great but it further restricted my time in the boonies. I continued to fight fire though.
When I retired I thought I would spend a tremendous amount of time in the woods. I did spend some time there and continued to fight fire but it is really expensive to go out in the woods just for enjoyment. The amount of time I spent out there reduced considerably. Then I got this part time job. It is only about half time but all of the time is spent out in the field. I do not have an office and the only things that resemble an office are the materials and I-pad that I carry in my truck. I have no supervisory or budget responsibilities and am only responsible for reporting what I see to my supervisor. It has been great so far and I don't see it changing much.
Another great thing about this job is that my boss is going to allow me to continue fighting wild land fires. The company knew before they hired me that if I could not fight fire I would not take the job. That made me feel really good that they said they could work around that. This will be an interesting field season for me.
BUSY---YOU DECIDE---I AM EXCITED
