Eureka! A Job!
Saturday, February 10, 2007

u-til-i-ty, (yōō-tĭl'ĭ-tē); n. pl. u·til·i·ties, from L. utilitatem (nom. utilitas) "usefulness, serviceableness, profit,"

  1. The quality or condition of being useful; usefulness: "I never imagined myself finding utility in working for a utility company" -Benjamin M. Washam (1983- )
  2. A commodity or service, such as electricity, water, or natural gas, that is provided by a public utility.
This is not a desk job, or a warehouse job, or a retail job, or even a delivery job! I have entered into the nebulous field of a "meter reader." You might have seen one of these curious men or women sneaking around your house during the week with a PDA in one hand and pepper spray for aggressive dogs in the other. Please don't harass them; better yet, why not offer them a glass of hot chocolate and some warm cookies? It could be me....*

The biggest challenge at this point besides rabid dogs will, of course, be the cold. With average daytime temperatures still negative, I am having to outfit myself with fancy equipment like "wool sox" and "three layers of long underwear." One neat little trick they recommended is called yaktrax, which is basically a pair of removable snow chains for your feet. Pretty cool.

So I'm now employed with RMR Services, a independent contractor that works with utility providers in the Twin Cities Metro area to install, repair, and read meters for gas, water, and electricity. Basically, I'll be doing a short commute out to the suburbs, parking my car and walking 10-12 miles a day house to house recording gas, water, or electric meter reading. The pay is great, and the hours are flexible! If nothing else, it will help get me in shape to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in the summer of '08 if for some crazy reason I decide to join my cousin. (Why not?)

(photo credit 1) (photo credit 2)

Posted by Benjamin Washam 7:26 PM  

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2 Comments:

  1. Anonymous said...
    2:39 PM  
    Yay for getting a job!


    Don't freeze to death out there!

    All I can say is, there are some benefits to moving South...maybe if you pray really hard, God will send you here next:)

    Dakarai
    Anonymous said...
    11:03 AM  
    Dude Benjamin, a shout out to yaktrax! Haha we sold those in AK, they work great, yah? If you want the best long underwear on the market, go to www.ibex.com. 100% Merino wool (NOT itchy) and SOOO comfortable. But they sure as heck don't give um away. Its about $165 for a set. I sent a pair to Eric in Iraq and he wore them for like 3 months straight... Thats the cool thing, wool is its naturally anti-microbial. So it wont stink! Any ways, I'm thinking if your hiking 12+ miles a day your going to HAVE to take advantage of the mad shape your in, and do the Pacific Crest Trail with you crazy cousin! (self admitted on the crazy;) haha hope all is going good for you man. Your in my prayers.
    -SoliDeoGloria-
    cousin Ry

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