Well, there went another job today. I am beginning to think of them in terms of assignments that only last a few weeks until it is time to find another.

I was working overtime this weekend, and I chose to work both Saturday and Sunday evenings instead of through the day. that might have been a mistake since I really could have used sunlight coming through the patio door for what I was doing. Instead, I used a DeWalt work light.

I have been doing facility and residential maintenance off and on since I graduated high school. For the last two years I have done residential maintenance in apartments and nursing homes. The tenants you find in a typical apartment are not monsters or anything, and you make a few friends. Nursing home residents are simply awesome to work with. Each one from either job is a story all in themselves. Whereas most of the stories of low income dwellers make me irate (lay up in the bed, spread legs for anything that moves, have 3 to 5 kids, then soak the daddies for child support, the state for housing assistance, the utility companies for payment assistance, and the USDA for food stamps, then waste what coin you have on nice cars and electronics), some of them really are trying to make life better for themselves. Senior citizens are great, though, even if some of them can't acknowledge you or have something wrong that makes them temperamental, hostile, or the like. I remember incidents of some of them crying aloud like an infant, undressing themselves in front of everyone, and the like, but I can't feel anything but sympathy and yes, even some respect, for them.

I've digressed. What my last assignment boiled down to was that we were failing to meet guidelines set forth by the city and state housing assistance agencies in the time we were given by the property manager. When I say "we", I mean three, no four, different crews. Three were assigned to prepare apartments for new move ins. Such apartments have to pass a housing inspection if the prospective tenant receives any kind of assistance with their rent. The guidelines for those units are much stricter than for those whose tenants pay rent on their own. IMO, therein lies a grave injustice. Each person should receive the same quality apartment regardless of who is paying.

Three of the four crews quit. They did not receive payment for their services for several weeks and they walked away. I feel like the reasons given by the property manager were weak excuses at best. The fourth crew, of which I was a part, had two of its own members quit as well. In the beginning, we had roughly a dozen folks to do a job, in the end, we were pared down to just two. The other person that was left besides me was not paid for about a two week period. Once again, I feel like the reasons given were inadequate.

It seems lately that every day when I went into the office, the property manager raised her voice about something. Last week she raised her voice at me for getting 34 hours of overtime on the weekend, but if you read my thread about birthdays that I started on September 4th, you will know that I was most definitely not working that weekend. I explained this. The next day, she yelled at me again for wasting her 34 hours of overtime.

Another day she yelled at me because I was draining the swimming pool. Hello, it is too cold to swim. It developed an algae growth, and if that reaches a certain stage, the only way to clear it involves partially draining the pool. We were taught this in a course given by our city's department of health. It was also written into our instruction book that we were given to take with us for a reference.

I was tired of her attitude problem at this point. Up until a few days ago, I barely even knew the office staff. I would only go in there to get work orders for the day if I didn't already have my work list made out the previous day. I would go in there occasionally when I needed to purchase something so that I could get approval. Now I never got prior approval before purchasing tools, but I spent my own money on those. She asked that we meet in the office each morning, though, so I would go in there right when I got to work. The very next morning, and each one thereafter, this manager yelled at the only two people she had left in the maintenance department. I tried to reason with her, but I am sure I, too, raised my voice when I tried that. I am not one to sit be yelled at--I will almost always yell right back in the person's face.

Two weeks ago, we were assigned to prepare a particular apartment for move in. My co worked scheduled contractors to replace the tile and carpet on the floor on a Monday. It would be inspected Tuesday. We started Friday at 11AM. That is when I found out the unit had a massive water leak. We knew instantly we would be working all weekend. We got our saws out and got busy cutting modly sheet rock out. I removed the dishwasher and the water tank and cleaned up all the mess we had made. We built a new shelf for the aircon to sit on since the old shelf was rotten. The next day we came in and we painted half of the apartment. We hung new sheet rock and textured it. The day after, we did more painting, installed trim, installed the water tank, mounted the new shelf, and hung sheet rock in the hot water closet. A contractor asked us to leave part of the sheet rock down so he could re install the aircon easier. We expected that we would be able to work after or around the flooring contractor to install a door and fix a few other problems the apartment had. I was asked to purchase the door and request a reimbursement. I refused, based on the fact that many of our contractors were still awaiting their payment. I was then told that the property manager would provide money to purchase the door that day so we could hang it Monday. That didn't happen, either.

Monday I found out that the flooring contractor had been canceled. We were told that the deadline was changed on that apartment since we had many others to prepare. I assisted in preparing several of those and preparing some occupied units for inspections, and many of them passed. The few that didn't were due to things not being done that the property had planned to hire contractors for, such as flooring.

A contractor was hired to clean the apartment up. When I realized he had the only key to the place, I took it from him and copied it, then brought him the copy. He never returned it. I had not turned that original key in when I changed the locks, so as far as anyone else knew, it never existed, but the copy I made did.

Anyway, fast forward to Friday at 4:45 PM. The property manager asks me to go and purchase the door, but she handed me some petty cash to do so. I was told the new inspection date was today, Monday, so we had to finish up in there. I was aware that someone had been "borrowed" from another property to work in the particular unit. He had told me the day before that he wanted to paint. He did next to nothing in reality. I had already cut all the trim he needed, and there was very little sheet rock to hang up. He hung five piece of sheet rock and attached one piece of trim. The rest of the trim had been thrown away. He did not address any of the other items that needed done, such as replacing screens, hanging blinds, changing light bulbs, and whatnot. Even the trim and sheet rock he installed looked terrible.

I realized when I entered on Saturday I had my work cut out for me once again. I worked as much as I could finishing the installation, placing "mud" and tape onto the new walls and texturing them. I did some plumbing and electrical work. I tested and repaired appliances, save for the dishwasher which I could not save since the pump seal was leaking. I installed a towel bar, did some caulking, installed a smoke alarm, hung the new door, and installed the return air vent. I spent six hours each day, from 3 to 9 in the afternoon/evening, working to pass that housing inspection. I realized late yesterday that while I probably would not finish everything then, if I asked for help in the morning that two of us could finish up and the apartment would pass. I was growing impatient and I decided it was time to call it quits for the evening. I packed up my tools and began to load them into my truck.

My tool box's weight changes day to day depending on what I have in it. Yesterday it was full, so I estimate it weighed close to 100 pounds. It is bulky, so it requires two hands to lift even if it is nearly empty. I had loaded all the smaller items into my truck, and as usual I loaded my tool box last.

The ground has washed away somewhat near this apartment. To get to the parking lot, one must either walk through the washed out area, or take the longer route following the sidewalk and down a couple of steps. Sometime before the ground washed away, a cable of some sort was buried, but the erosion has exposed a 15 foot section of it.

With my 100 pound tool box in both arms, I failed to see that cable in the dark. I unknowingly planted my right foot on it and my left foot caught underneath it. The box began to pull me forward and down. I jerked frantically with my left foot, trying to free it, since my right was already behind me and I could not transfer that much weight (300 pounds total) back to it. I was falling. My left foot came free after a couple of seconds, but it still felt as if the cable was wrapped around it. I stumbled forward, the weight of the box pulling me further forward and down with each step. A few steps later, I crashed into a parked car and my box landed hard on the hood. I fell across the hood and my tool box. I lifted the box and realized quickly my left foot would not hold any weight. I did manage to hobble to my truck with the box, but the truck was only a few feet away. I locked everything I could into my truck and drove to the shop. I was able to unload one thing, my step ladder, so I placed it near the door, locked up, and called my co worker to let him know he would have work to do in the morning and that I might not be able to help.

I drove home, but I did have problems working the clutch in my truck. I wanted to go into work today, but I did not know if I would be able to drive. I decided that if I was still hurting and I could drive, I'd ask for the day off in person, but that if I could not drive, I would call in.

As it turns out, several spikes of pain shot through my foot and into my leg this morning. I could work the clutch to an extent, but for the most part I had to operate all three pedals with one foot. I called my co worker and told him I was not going to make it and that I intended to call the office next. They beat me to it--I got a call waiting while I was on the phone. They asked where the keys were and I explained that while their cleaners had lost the set they were supposed to have, a spare existed and I happened to have it. I told them I was having problems driving, but I would bring the keys in. I thought about swiping my wife's truck, which has an auto tranny, but I knew she needed it to get to work and we didn't have time to carpool before that inspection occurred.

I brought the keys to work and explained why I was limping so badly. I said I'd like to go home and put some ice on my foot. I turned to my co worker and told him there were a few things left and I'd left a list but forgotten something on it. That's when the property manager interrupted and her attitude problem showed back up. An argument ensued, and we both yelled at each other. I told her I was "tired of this" (meaning the situation, not the job), and she demanded my office and shop keys. We each said to one another that were were "finished with each other". I asked for my shop key back so I could get my tools and at first she refused. I asked again for either a key or someone to accompany me, and before I could threaten to cut a wall out of the shop or back through the door, she handed me a key.

It took a while for me to load everything up. There is a full set of DeWalt power tools including some saws and a vacuum cleaner, all of which was purchased separately, a step ladder, many hand tools, a small fridge that I generally hook up wherever I work, and three fans. Normally I could have it loaded in about ten minutes, but it took half an hour today. My co worker loaded the fridge. The whole bunch of tools would cost around $1500 to replace at retail if it were stolen or lost.

After that, I drove home to think for a few minutes. I called a personal injury lawyer to ask questions. My call was returned about half an hour later. I decided it was best to go get checked by a doctor. I went to the workman's comp clinic the parent company used, but they would not see me even when I offered to pay for it myself. I went to a minor emergency clinic where it cost me $160 to get examined and x rayed. My foot is sprained, but fortunately it is not broken. I was prescribed Loritab, which I am afraid to take, and 600 mg Motrin. I have over the counter motrin at home, which can be taken in 400 mg doses so I decided to go with that instead of paying for the stronger pills.

Ordinarily I would have stayed home today with ice on my foot, then gone back to work the next day or the following day. I made the decision to be seen to get a snapshot of the damage done before it healed up, mainly in case it was needed for the workman's comp claim.

Since nothing is broken, I expect I will be able to walk normally within a few days. Even if it was broken, I could have my wife drive me to work in the morning where I could sit at a desk and take or make calls, or lease apartments.

The last people I called were the unemployment folks. I explained all of this to them. They will determine if I am eligible for benefits. I see no harm in calling them and telling the truth, as making that determination is their job. They did ask if I was able to work, and I told them I felt like yes I can do a desk job even if they call me tomorrow with one. I explained that the doctor did not ask me to return.

The last thing I did before finally relaxing at home was to get the Ace wrap the doctor "prescribed" and get something to eat. That, 400 mils of Motrin, and some ice have helped greatly with pain.

I feel like I was not told what was expected of me this weekend. I expected to walk in on Saturday, hang a door, paint that door, install a vent, and leave, and that was it. I feel like I was terminated partly because of the argument, partly because the property manager did not think the apartment would pass inspection, and partly because I was injured. I feel like it is wrong to terminate anyone between the time of an on the job injury and the time they get treated. At the least, I feel like even if the person was wrong, they should be treated, then terminated and possibly billed for the treatment.

The lawyer explained that I should be able to receive payment for several things, including the days I am out of work because of this (this possibly includes the time I'm out of work over losing the job, too), and I should be able to recover the $160 I spent at Fast ER care today. I did not ask how his fees would be paid.

If I can sue for damages, should I? On the one hand, all I really want is my money back for the doctor and the lawyer, and payment of several days' wages that I would normally have been able to earn if I was still working. On the other hand, if I were able to sue for damages, and I did so, perhaps such a lawsuit would cause the parent company to think about their workman's comp practices and terminate those who do not follow them. It might not help me much, but it could help someone else avoid this kind of thing in the future. Even if I didn't win anything at all, it still might prevent this happening again.

As for this board, the questions are largely rhetorical. I have asked the to my wife for real, and I may ask some other family members and some friends what they would do.

On the bright side, the $160 I spent today is less than what I would have spent on one month medical insurance the last time I was offered it. In addition to that, chances are that even if I landed a new job tomorrow, the start date would be a few days later which would give my foot time to heal. My wife, of course, still has her job, and we have savings to help out.