Shaun Lewis: the Man, the Myth, the Legend

Yesterday, I finally put an end to my long-run of not working. This run was not a choice of mine, but the result of the weakening economy in the car industry. Since my work deals exclusively with SUVs, high gas prices also play a part in my lack of a job. Needless to say, when I got a call from my cousin, who owns a telecommunications business, asking me if I wanted to help him out on a job, I was pretty excited; that meant I wouldn’t be poor anymore.

So, I showed up @ his office on Monday morning and we drove down to the place where we were going to install a bunch of data and voice cables, jacks, network hubs and wireless equipment; also, the telephone system was going to get a much-needed overhaul.

This is where the story really begins. I should mention that I’m scared of heights, and while that usually isn’t a problem because I only have to be on the third step of a 6 ft. ladder to pull cables, I had a feeling this job was going to be different. As soon as I entered the building, my worries were affirmed as I looked up and saw the 65 ft. ceiling.

Really, I was in for a treat that day.

I think the worst part of the day was when James (my cousin) asked me to install a nice, heavy board of wood (used as a backboard to put all the network equipment on) 25 ft. in the air by myself. I had been nervous on top of my roof before, but the terror I experienced doing this was crippling. I had a nice slap in the face too; it was when I walked over to ask Steve (Jamie’s cousin and employee) a question and I saw him sitting on the top step of the 20 ft. ladder I had just clung onto so desperately while putting up that piece of wood. Truly, I felt like a loser.

I guess I’m just not cut out to work in construction. I mean, I can drill and hammer just fine when I’m on the ground, but as soon as I’m 20 ft. in the air (which really ISN’T that high for most people) I get a drill that doesn’t work that well. I wonder if that’s irony or just a coincidence.

Anyway, that was just one day’s worth of work and I made $130. So, it ended up being fine. Not great money, of course, but respectable. After work, I was REALLY tired. It was probably due to the psychological stress I experienced throughout the day because of the heights. So, one would think that I would’ve went home and slept, right? Wrong. I went to Jacki’s and hung out with 6 girls. Apparently, the only friends I have are girls–whether home or at school. That’s cool.

Note: Most of the girls I hung out with weren’t my friends–acquaintances is probably a better description. I knew them from high school. They were really Jacki’s friends, and I was crashing their party. It was awesome.

That’s really all I have to talk about today. Except to mention that Napoleon Dynamite (!) comes out on DVD today. So, if you’re looking for a Christmas present for me, that would be perfect. In fact, more than perfect. I would love whoever gave that to me forever until I died. Even after death I would still be pretty excited about it.

Really, I would.