Flash Blog

Every heard of a flash blog? I hear they are popular in Singapore. This is basically the last 3 weeks of my Technician life here in Souther Oregon. Enjoy.



Travel. Installs. Crescent City. Beach. Redwoods. Jeep. Off-roading. New brakes. Driving. Swimming. Smoke. Fires. King Ha. Oregon Caves. Screw in Eye. Eye Doctor. Dilated Eyes. Texting. Snapchat. Pears. New Friend. Temple. Eagle Point. Medford. White City. Phoenix. Facebook. Church. Portland. Casino. Scratch & Win. Sleep. New Bike. Service. Angry Customers. Red Necks. Mullet. Taxi Service. Olive Garden. Australia. Phone Lines. Drywall. Raceway. Phone Calls. Mall. Cruising. Cell Phone. Settlers of Catan. The Platform. Mountains. 3am. Cake. Marriott.  Sleepover.  Birthdays. Party. Calamari. Balloons. Music. Dance. Email. Orange. Gift Card. Mucho Dinero. Tired. Road Trip. Inventory. Shark Week. Music Video. Busy. More Installs. Smiles. Laughs. Steve. Travis. Pizza. Vivint. Technician. Summer. Almost. Over.

Oh the life of a Technician.

Medford Mashup

The grand tour of Oregon continues and the Technicians of America move on. A lot of events have happened these past few weeks since the move southward. Medford 5th ward is my new singles ward. I teach Gospel Doctrine and it's great. I live with Steve and stay in the Marriott which is a step up. I pass the time with Travis and Steve with board games, frisbee golf, and cruising around. The work is steady and I come home tired every night which is a fulfilling feeling. Now I've made a few mistakes... Funny in hindsight.

The Big Flood!

1. The Big Flood. So I was installing a basic system in a small manufactured home for this older couple. I had to move their washing machine to run a wire in the wall. I moved it back, finished up the job, and left with them smiling. The next day was sunday and I came home from church with multiple missed calls and texts from my boss and corporate. "Call me ASAP." Said Tristan. So I made the call and asked what was up.

Tristan: "Joseph, do you remember Collin's install out in White City?"
Joseph: "Yes Tristan I do..."
Tristan: "Yeah, well you flooded their entire house! You need to call them and go over there."
Joseph: "Oh shoes." Silence... "Are they mad?''
Tristan: "The husband is calm but upset and the wife is frantic and freaking out."
Joseph: "Dang. Ok, Thanks."

Yeah. So I drive up there with my nice sunday shoes still on and sheepishly approach the door. The smile I left them with on Saturday was no longer there. I used some humor/friendly talk to break the awkward barrier and saw the damage. Oh my. It was nothing like Noah's big flood. Ha. So I when I moved back the washing machine, the drainage hose slipped and was disconnected. When they ran the wash on Saturday, all the water drained out on the carpet and seeped into the kitchen. Luckily they caught it and had soaked up the water by the time I arrived. I took some pictures and they said they were going use their steam vacuum to clean up the rest. If any further damage occurred, Uncle Vinny (Vivint) would take care of it. This pleased them and that smile was back by the time I left. Lucked out.

Travis and I. Teamwork.

2. Furnace Ka-Boom! The next day I was helping Travis on one of his jobs. I was putting up the new thermostat and questioned where one of the wires went. I got Travis to confirm what I was doing was right and then flipped on the breaker to test. I turned on cool and waited. A few minutes later I started to  feel a little warm and ran my hand across the vent. Yeah, it was warm air. That's not supposed to happen. I called my second mother, Tristan, and asked why the heat and the cool were switched... He told me to switch one of the wires and I did. Right when I turned it on, I got a job so I took off and left it to Travis. Hours later he walked out of that house with ticked off customers. I guess I put a wire where it wasn't supposed to go and blew the furnace. After I left, it wouldn't even turn on. Flat lined, died, no breath at all. The customers were a little more than upset going to bed with the house being 85 degrees with no cool air. Luckily Uncle Vinny came to the rescue the next day to fix everything. Only a $2 fuse needed to be replaced. Lucked out. Again.

Introducing the famous Stephen.

3. Expensive Parking. To save on gas and miles, we decided to carpool home from the work area to our hotel. We finished up about 11:30pm and were looking for a safe place to park overnight. The hospital wouldn't let us, nor the police station, so we found a cheap hotel that had ample parking spaces. We left our cars and didn't think about it. We showed up the next day to get our cars and there was a huge pickup parked behind us. As we were getting in our cars, the hotel manager caught our attention and ripped us a new one. "Had you the decency to ask to park here overnight I may have let you, but because this is a private institution and you parked in my customers parking... blah blah blah you both owe me $20." What?! There were over 40 empty spaces and we took two.  I guess we really offended her by using her empty parking lot. I see why they are never busy. Anyway, she wouldn't take a card so we had to walk around to find an ATM. We came back some time later and payed her the money so we could get out. We were so nice and polite but I guess that wasn't enough for her. Me and my smart mouth jokingly asked for a receipt but that didn't help the situation. We got ourselves out and I was upset for the next little while but got over it. Hey, after all, we got $40 parking spots, not too bad.

I miss home, Portland, and my real mom. But the Technicians of America have to stick it out and get those installs in! People NEED these security systems and some one has to put them in. Haha.
All is well, even with the floods, fiery furnaces, and special parking! Oh the life of a technician.

The Big Bend

The big news came at 10:30 in the morning. Tristan (boss) called me up and said, "Have you heard the big news?" I replied in the negative and he informed me that we were all moving to Bend, OR. That set the tone for the day. Now you see, the last six weeks I have been working in the greater Portland area and fell in love with it. I had a great ward, amazing friends, and got to be in the picturesque Oregon that I know and love. That all came crashing down. So the big move.

The Majestic Oregon Mountains

I spent my last day in Portland with Cathrine Martell as we hit OHSU, Moonstruck Chocolates, Best Baguettes, and a few spots downtown. It was the perfect way to end my stay in Portland. I hit the road and the drive was incredible beautiful as you can see in the picture. I eventually pulled into the local Days Inn and was tickled pink that they had free breakfast and that I would be on the bottom floor. Luxuries I haven't had all summer. Then come to find out I had the option of sleeping on the floor or with another dude... I chose the floor. After the first initial day my heart softened to the whole idea of being in Bend. It sure isn't as green but it's basically Oregon's finest playground. There is hiking, biking, boating, floating, walking, talking, swimming, running, driving, fishing, and a whole lot of drinking. Bend is the outdoor place to be and happens to be full of local beer. I love it all minus the alcohol. After doing a few jobs and getting to know the people, I'm starting to warm up to it. 

Last day in Portland

The week went well and I got the numbers that I needed. I went to "Bite of Bend" where a bunch of local food vendors come out and sell food. There is live music, hippies, and a lot of drunk people. Funny Story. I came down with three of my co-workers and they decided to go down liquor lane. Basically you pay $10 and get to drink as much booze as you want. All the local breweries offer samples of their finest liquor.  I didn't want to just sit around and wait but I really don't care for the smell or the environment that surrounds alcohol. I asked if I could enter without paying or drinking. The lady just looked at me and picked up a name tag that said, "Designated Driver" and put it around my neck. I got a kick out of it. After walking around and learning all about hard liquor I had enough and headed back to the hotel. I of course got a snapshot before leaving. I realized that I had two bikes to ride home because my co-worker was too drunk to ride his back. So I rode mine and pulled the other one next to me. It was funny. Kinda. You had to of been there. Ha. I was hoping to be stopped and asked why I had two bikes, I would of loved to explain that one.

Proud to be sober

Anyway, that was the big Bend for this week. Supposedly I'm moving down further south to Medford this week but who knows where the wind will blow me. I feel the need to settle down and plant my feet but I do like getting a grand tour of the great state of Oregon.

Oh the Life of a Technician.

Technician's Week Off

Even technicians deserve time off right? Right. Despite still working over 60 hours this week, I took some time off. What a relief. I went on some great adventures to overcome the side effects of inhaling drywall dust, pinching my fingers, and choking from cat hair/cigarette smoke. It was brilliant, let me tell you about it.

I started off the week by taking a walking tour of downtown Salem which happens to be the capital of Oregon. I entered the capitol building and watched all the media/government/politic people wait outside of the House of Representatives room as bill 205a (Probably another bill to keep Oregon weird) was about to be passed. I walked among the suits and skirts with shorts and a casual button down shirt. I was a little out of place but enjoyed the excitement and chatter. I toured a nice university near by and my excitement for learning came back. The best part was the earthly Angel Moroni that sits up top the building. Ha, I got a kick out of it for some strange reason.

The next great adventure took me high above the Columbia River. I went hiking with my friend from the ward, Cathrine. We took a nice drive along the river and hiked to Angels Rest which takes you to a great look out over the gorge. It was incredible. The trail was covered by trees and there was so much green. I'd been dying for a real Oregon hike and this hit the spot. We also went to Multnomah falls which is this giant waterfall. We got some refreshing ice cream and picked up a few postcards from the gift shop. It was the perfect way to start my weekend. If you haven't seen the instagram photo you need to check it out... best one yet. Ha.

To top the great hike, my wonderful parents came into town. I got to spend the rest of the weekend with them and sure enjoyed their company. It's nice to see some familiar faces. Not to mention I had some real food. I forgot what it's like not to use a microwave. Thai food, Mexican food, and even a great Salmon. Ah so good. I took my parents to the Beaverton Farmers Market which was fantastic. Great mix of food, fresh produce and some of the worlds best tasting strawberries. What a treat and a half. The parents ditched me for the beach and I had to take care of some official technician business.

Sunday finally came and I was privileged to attend singles ward with my parents. It was great. I love my parents. And my ward. Just saying. We took a temple walk and it felt good to be with my dad on Fathers Day. Man of Steel. Great time.

So you know those 8ft clearance things that happen to be at the entrance of hotels? Yeah well I forgot my bike, Edward, was on the top of the car. I ran into the overhang and my bike flew off the top of the car. It sounded like a car accident. I dented the overhang and had a little freakout. I got my act together and wiped the tears as I inspected the damage. Long story short, I fixed Edward and still got my 10pm cruise on in Lake Oswego. Bike rack is broken.






Last little thing. So there are three smells that just drive me nuts. Cat, cigarette smoke, and bacon. I was on this job the other night and they had cats. Strike one. Then the wife was going to order pizza for dinner but changed her mind last second. Any guesses? Yep, it was bacon. Who in the world cooks a pound of bacon and eats it for dinner? Strike two. Then a co-worker comes in to talk to the customer and guess what he was just smoking? A cigarette. Strike three. I wanted to put on my gas mask but I left it in the car sadly. Ah man it was bad. But I guess technicians don't get everything they want now do they. Ha. Ha. No.

Back to the hammer and drill. Wire and glue. Problem solving and house protecting.
Oh the life of a Technician.

Weekly Happenings.

I'll give you a little something from this week.

I Installed a system for a Mr. Maskimov who is an underground Russian arms dealer. He told me about everything that he does and how he operated out of Portland. It kinda freaked me out but he played a nice cover with his Ukrainian wife and small kinds. He told me that if I said

anything to anyone he would have a nice surprise for me and my family. I swore to secrecy and got out of there. Just kidding. That didn't happen. I've been watching a spy tv show a little too much. But I really did install for a rich Russian guy and he was super nice. He even invited me back this week for some beers. I will politely decline. 

Because of the lack of install this week, I had a lot of down time. I did make it to the Portland temple for a session and it was beautiful. I love that temple. I also spent many many hours at a public park in Molalla, OR. I read books, practiced juggling, walked around, slept, and people watched. You'd never guess the things you see at public parks. Should of been a private park.... Geez. Anyway, I did eat the worlds greatest burrito this week from a Mexican joint called "Muchas Gracias". That's what I said to them after I consumed their "Oregon Burrito." It was comprised of steak, papas, salsa, and cheese all wrapped up in a warm, fluffy tortilla. Oh it was heavenly. The bonus is that is only cost $4.80. Didn't even break the bank. Who-ah!

Oh, this morning I made $60 in 53 minutes. Do the math and that is $1.13 per minute. Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Only wish that happened all day long.

Ok so the really good stuff. I shall relate the story of me failing at asking a girl out on a date. There is this really kind girl in the ward who I wanted to treat to lunch for being so kind. I didn't catch her at church so I resolved to call her that night on the phone around 8pm. I'm normally pretty cool about this kind of stuff but was getting nervous for some reason. I  made the call and she answered. Now the idea was just to ask her on a casual-get-to-know-you-better-slash-thank-you lunch. Nothing fancy. So she answers and I ask her if I could treat her to lunch sometime this week because of the kindness that she had shown. It's the least I could do. After about 4 seconds came the resounding and confident "No". I almost died. I didn't plan this far ahead and was speechless. She explained that her lunch breaks were short and gets gets caught up with other things during that time. I was set on eating something with this girl so I asked about dinner, even though I knew I probably couldn't do dinner because of my schedule. She looked at her calendar and was booked. Dang. At this point I felt like a loser and my mouth was completely dry. My brain froze up and I didn't say anything for like 20 seconds. (That's a long time on the phone.) She finally spoke up and said she was going to some activities this week and asked if I was going to them. I just said, "yeah I'll probably see you this week." Fail. I hung up and felt like an idiot. Ha, I haven't choked up on stuff like this since high school. I don't know what got into me but I didn't get the lunch. I settled for writing her a thank you card to express my gratitude. We'll see if I even give it to her. Technicians aren't as smooth as we all thought I guess.

Well, that's technician life for you.

The Oregon countryside is beautiful!

The Cookie Still Crumbles

You may believe that life is just peachy once you become a technician. That may be true but in the words of my co-worker Nate, "(Crap) still hits the fan." That happened to me this week. I don't want to be a downer but this week was one of the worst in all of my 1,036 weeks of existence. Lets break this down.
Most of America was relaxing and enjoying family on Monday to celebrate memorial day. Technicians were hard at work getting in the way at BBQ's, drilling holes, and trouble shooting technical problems. I had four jobs on monday and was constantly working from 10 am to 2 am. Long day. Didn't get invited to any parties but was offered a hot dog and vodka on my way out of a job. I passed. (They were on their fourth round of shots when I was teaching them how to use their system... haha I don't think they will remember a thing). Anyway, I got that little funny feeling in my throat about 6pm and knew that I was getting sick. Well it hit hard, and I was dead by tuesday morning. I had to wake up early and finish and install 25 miles away. My boss wanted me out working on jobs but I refused, drove back to the hotel and crashed hard. I woke up hours later with a pounding head, constricted throat, stuffed nose, and aching body. Ah man it was the pits. I was too prideful and cheap to go buy medicine and I'm living out of a microwave so nothing sounded good. I did some simple calculations and found that in the last 72 hours I had worked for 38 of them, slept for 17 of them, consumed maybe 1200 calories, and drank less than a gallon of water. I guess your body freaks out.
To continue onward... The rest of the week I had to play mini manager and do extra work duties because our real manager is 250 miles away. All while recovering from The Sickness. A light did burst as I was invited to a YSA Dance party in this wooded lodge on Friday night. I was excited to get some social interaction and hopefully get off of work a bit early. I lucked out by finishing early Friday night and drove the 50 miles to the lodge. I got there and didn't know anyone. Ever been to a huge party and not know anyone? Man, its rough. I finally found a few ward members that I knew but wasn't really in party mode. I couldn't talk and my nose was stuffed. I was a poor party guest so I took a little journey in the vineyard/woods. It was exciting. I received a call from a good friend and had a great evening chat. I decided to kick it in just before midnight and make the journey home.
That's when the final bomb for the week dropped. I received some information that broke my little heart. Bam. What made me even more upset was the way I reacted. I have been trying to do some self-improvement in handling situations. I had taken all that I had learned and developed and threw it out the window. It made me upset that I knew how to handle the situation like a responsible 21 year old adult but still reverted to my old self. Lame. I finally dozed off at 3 in the morning and now I'm here in Canby, Oregon sitting in the library on a floral print, plush, arm chair, writing about my week. (My comma usage is probably wrong in the previous sentence).

I don't say this so you can have pity on me and feel bad for poor little Jojo. Chances are you had an even worse week and are struggling with harder things. My point is that the cookie still crumbles even as a technician. Drilling holes, hammering in yard signs, setting up door locks, and configuring cameras make this technician life so fulfilling and rewarding. Even with all that, life can still get you down. Keep that in mind. The good thing is that Sunday is tomorrow and I get a new fresh week to Live The Dream!
#Techlife #Ifixit4u #technicianforlife

Oh The Life of a Technician.

Social Life of a Technician

Social life? Ha. That is a joke and a half. Let's break this down. Monday - Saturday I am "on the job" from 11am to midnight or later. Thats every day except Sunday. Now when does most social interaction between college kids happen? In the afternoon/evenings. I'm always working. So my social life is nonexistent. I could hang out from like 9am to 11am but I haven't had any time to find morning friends... I'm totally fine with it however. I do get to spend quality time drilling holes in walls with customers, hanging with the three other techs, and "the black brothas" living in our hotel. It's very nice.

Sunday is my 5 hours of social life a week. I now attend the West Lake YSA ward and I love it. The ward is full and the people were very loving and welcoming my first week. I actually made some friends and was invited to a quesadilla party right after church. The average age of the members are around 24 so I'm a few years behind but I like it. I'm surrounded by law students, accountants, and future doctors and dentists. I feel a little under qualified but I love it. I look forward to sunday and those few hours of social interaction that I need.

So yep, thats my social life. No parties, girls, hangouts, or activities for me. I do have Mother Nature and by great bike, Edward, to hang out with. Bonus.

Funniest thing I heard all week from a customer. Picture this. This old 70 guy with only one tooth left in his mouth. He's All-American and has eagles all over his home. He is proud to be a racist and hates anyone that isn't white. While I was installing, he was cracking jokes the entire time and talking to his dogs. He was watching the news and the following dialogue happened.

News Reporter: "California woman attacked by a bear in her own home."
Arlyn:"Oh just tell her husband to put his shirt back on and behave himself."
Joseph: (speechless and laughing his guts out.)(Created a mental picture that I couldn't stop laughing at)

I don't know why it was so funny. Ah you just had to have been there.

Technician life is just great...

The First Week.

I made it. The first full week as a Technician! Things are going well. Just like moving to a new area in the mission, I've adjusted. (This may be a little scattered because the McDonald's customers sitting next to me won't stop talking about a new saw that has great new safety features to prevent chopping your fingers off.) I can't multitask. Anyway.

The first few installs on my own went great. After shadowing a few experienced techs, I arrived at my first job and did the whole thing by myself! Wahoo. Only a few problems occurred but I played it cool and had a sweet victory dance in the street when I finished.  I've done eight installs now and every one brings something new to the table. It's kinda like the gospel. I study something and think that I understand it completely, and that there is no more to learn about it. Then bam, the Lord presents me with a new idea or challenge and I learn even more. That's how this job is, and I learn more and more every house that I enter. So thats the great and dandy fluffy news.

You never know what your going to get/see/hear when you enter into someones home... Now keep in mind we are working in small agricultural/industrial towns in eastern Oregon and Washington. Lower income families and people that have lived their whole lives in these little towns. My first install these two sisters talked about all the girls in the town that are pregnant or who have gotten pregnant in the last month. I know them all now! Ha. Then one of them decides to start breastfeeding right there in the living room. They talked about teen pregnancies almost the entire time we were there. Interesting. One guy had a cat-hair infested house and 5 minutes into the install, my throat closed up and I wheezed the rest of the way. It was bad. He was creepishly watching us the entire time. The pale white skin and thin mustache didn't make me feel any better. Then I helped on an install where this  family was obviously protecting their weed garden. They dedicated their garage to growing beautiful marijuana plants.  It was pretty nice, I'm not going to lie. They went all out with special lights, fans, and the whole bit. There were plants by nearly every window as well. Then the teenage son came home and was bragging how he had a gun that he could protect the family with. It was a pellet gun hanging up on his bedroom wall. Nice one. Then, last night, I made a boo boo. I ran into a nail when drilling a whole into a door jam. So I routinely grabbed my drill bit that cuts through metal. I tried cutting through the nail but it wasn't working. I tried to pull part of the bit out but it was stuck. So I pulled a little harder and fingers slid right along the bit. It hurt. My brain said, "Owe, that hurt!" I finally looked down and found my hand full of blood. Oh crap. It was dripping on their back entry way floor. I freaked out about spilling blood on their floor and didn't want to call it to their attention. Luckily my manager Tristan was there helping me with the job. I called for him and he came over and exclaimed a four letter word. I asked if he had a band-aid. He politely and calmly asked the customers if they had a band-aid and they came rushing over. Luckily they were more concerned about me than the floor and grabbed some paper towels and band-aids. They helped me wrap it all up and then I apologized. A lot. I sheepishly kept going and finished the job. I left there and felt like an idiot but luckily I still have my fingers! I felt I deserved some tacos after that and stopped at a taco truck. Good deal.

So that's the life of a technician. I love this job and work with some great guys. I shall talk about my social/church life next post... It's almost as exciting as life on the job. Ha.

That's the Life of a Technician.

Pictured above in my roommate Travis. Good guy.

Here we go.

And so the journey begins... life as a technician. I heard that blogs are really for girls but this is a man blog. Suitable for men, women, and children. I'm doing this to keep my sense of humor so keep that in mind. I hope you get a great picture of what my summer is like and all the great fun that I have! Ha.

I decided to take a summer job installing security systems for a certain company that uses a lot of orange. Take a guess. The location of the job is in the Tri-Cities, Washington area. (South Eastern Washington along the Columbia River) I went to a few trainings during school semester and then packed up the '98 Forester and caravanned up yesterday. That's when it began. Nine whole hours sitting on my bum driving up through Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. I'm not really a big fan of caravans because I feel obligated to stay up or behind. Having 250,000 miles on my car, I wanted to take it easy... But being behind the three other guys, I was obligated to stay up. Lame. But to make a short story even shorter, we arrived. Now, i've been living in different apartments with dudes for the past two and a half years and I'm kinda used to it. On that note, you might be thinking that when I got into the apartment that it was terrible! Well, you are wrong. It wasn't that bad at all, besides the unswept/unvaccumed floors, empty beer cans, and smell of cigarette smoke that filled the bathroom. Haha. It's a six-man apartment with 3 bedrooms/bathrooms, kitchen, and living room. Great setup. Luckily I scored an empty twin size bed in the "Master Bedroom" and the kid behind me grabbed the queen in the same room. In answers to my prayers, that kid happens to be a returned missionary from Vernal, Utah. He speaks spanish and has one heck of a sense of humor. We unpacked our stuff and had some pillow talk to start off our summer together. Bromance. Not. Later that night I found out the smokers/drinkers were moving up to a new area and would be leaving the apartment. Yahoo. So we went to bed, melting in the six man apartment, exhausted, and ready for the first day of work. Perfect start to my summer life as a technician.

That brings me to today. I woke up, cleaned the place, and went to the store to purchase a broom and food. I brought it all back and was called in to the office to meet with my boss. I drove the 8 miles to the office and got my official orange polo and learned how to install some pieces of equipment. Oh and then I discovered a oil leak on my car. So I have to now go the Subaru Dealership to get it fixed at one. Oh and did I mention we don't internet. Yeah, I'm at McDonald's using their Wifi. It's slow and I have to go... That rhymes. Well thats about it for my first 16 hours here in Washington. More to come as the summer progresses! That's the life of a technician.