All in a Days Work (part II)
I know many will find this hard to believe but I spend a lot of time in church. Many different churches actually. From small churches out in the country, the kind that still have the tote board in the lobby that keeps track of attendance and donations, to big churches that take up a half a city block and in which I've actually gotten lost before. Most churches have security and/or fire systems in varying degrees of depth. Fire systems because jurisdictions require them in buildings where people gather and security due to the fact that some churches have sound and recording equipment that a lot of musicians would die for.
This week I had a call to make at a Freewill Baptist that, as Freewill Baptist churches go, is pretty big. When I called the Pastor to let him know I was on the way he said he would meet me there to unlock the door and my reaction was, cool, he's going to let me in to do my thing and I'll have an empty building with no impediments to get my work done. Sometimes I get a pastor or caretaker that has nothing better to do so they end up following me around and wanting to make conversation. I prefer just being left alone and concentrating on the task at hand.
I had been to this place once before so when he arrived he recognized me and asked if I remembered where the panel was. I said, "I think so". (I knew it was in the basement somewhere but I also remembered that it was a pretty big basement with a bunch of rooms.) Call it a premonition but as soon as I said that I thought, (should have just said yes, Ed) because he said he'd turn on the lights and show me where it was.
After he showed me he stood there asking what the problem was and what it was going to take to fix it and we talked about those issues for a couple of minutes when his phone rang. Cool, he left the room to take the phone call and now I can maneuver through this rats nest of wires to fix the problem in peace. When he comes back he asks how long I might be because he and the wife are going to go vote and immediately my spidey senses go off. It wouldn't be the first time a customer has brought up politics while I'm on the job and it won't be the last. I find it rude and disrespectful because I'm there in a professional capacity and basically a mute, captive audience for whatever they want to spout. I don't know if it's because they're a leader of a flock that they believe their views are special and need to be shared, even to total strangers, but it does seem the people who most often bring political or social issues up when I'm on the job are church people.
Him: So do you vote
Me: Yep, I've already voted.
Him: Well, I hope you voted for Trump.
Me: I'm not usually one who wears my political leanings on my sleeve.
(Well done, Ed. He showed you the bait and you didn't bite. Maybe he'll take your subtle hint and pull his leanings off his sleeve.)
But that wasn't the case, and much to my chagrin, he was just getting started.
Him: Because we need to shake that place up and he's gonna do it.
Being on the clock and having to represent my company in a professional manner may mute my voice but it can't stop my mind from going full on rant.
Me: ( What do they do? Pass out fuckin scripts for you guys to recite with all this shakin it up crap? If you think shakin shit up is so rad, try doing it the next time you want a Pepsi.)
He then begins to talk to me like I've been living under a rock up until this very moment, telling me how Donald's been a successful business man and that maybe we need to start running this country more like a business.
Me: ( The casino always wins, unless it's a Trump casino, they always fold. Good one Ed, you just subconsciously burned him.)
He talked some more about economic stuff but I had to try and block it out and concentrate on my work This room was only 10'x10' to begin with and it felt like it was getting smaller.
When he finally come up for air there was about 10-15 seconds of awkward silence, I hadn't spoken a word since my sleeve comment. I thought, (Okay in 3, 2, 1, commence Hillary bashing), but that didn't happen and I was like, WTF?, he's going off script.
***
I would guess over half my friends are conservatives and there are a few, okay, maybe a couple that I have civil conversations with about politics and it's usually the same convo, bash each others candidate. If I were asked what Hillarys best asset is,"she ain't Trump" would be among my top answers. Sadly our choices are between a sneaky, conniving bitch and a scumbag. I'll choose sneaky and conniving over a scumbag every time. There have been successful sneaky and conniving world leaders but it's never gone well for the scumbags. But surprisingly, the Pastor never got around to bashing Hillary.
***
He did bash the media though, saying they lie about Trump (Cool, now you're back on script. But it seems to me they mostly just repeat what he says. Whatever, please, go on) and twist his words out of context. (I've never heard it put quite that way before, but what words could you possibly add to "I like to grab them by the pussy", that could pretty it up and add context to it?)
He then started talking about how Donald had been saved and it got really creepy. He's standing behind me so I can't see him and it almost felt as though he wasn't talking to me as much as he was simply talking to the room. (Is he trying to convince himself of his own words?) I had to get the hell out of there, the room was getting way too small and I was actually getting a little nauseous. I told him I had to put new batteries in my meter and went out to the truck. The clean air was nice and as soon as it hit me my head cleared and I got royally pissed at myself for my stupid, stupid, rookie mistake.
There were two issues with this fire system. The one that I was working on at the control panel and another that would involve going out into the church and tracking down a rogue duct detector that could be anywhere. He was older and shorter, there was no way he could match my stride and keep up. It would probably mean getting into the attic (it did) and as much as I dislike crawling around attics nowadays I knew I could find peace and quiet up there. So I grabbed my ladder and ditched him. I don't know how long he waited for me to return downstairs but when I got out of the attic he was in his office and stayed there until I left.
This week I had a call to make at a Freewill Baptist that, as Freewill Baptist churches go, is pretty big. When I called the Pastor to let him know I was on the way he said he would meet me there to unlock the door and my reaction was, cool, he's going to let me in to do my thing and I'll have an empty building with no impediments to get my work done. Sometimes I get a pastor or caretaker that has nothing better to do so they end up following me around and wanting to make conversation. I prefer just being left alone and concentrating on the task at hand.
I had been to this place once before so when he arrived he recognized me and asked if I remembered where the panel was. I said, "I think so". (I knew it was in the basement somewhere but I also remembered that it was a pretty big basement with a bunch of rooms.) Call it a premonition but as soon as I said that I thought, (should have just said yes, Ed) because he said he'd turn on the lights and show me where it was.
After he showed me he stood there asking what the problem was and what it was going to take to fix it and we talked about those issues for a couple of minutes when his phone rang. Cool, he left the room to take the phone call and now I can maneuver through this rats nest of wires to fix the problem in peace. When he comes back he asks how long I might be because he and the wife are going to go vote and immediately my spidey senses go off. It wouldn't be the first time a customer has brought up politics while I'm on the job and it won't be the last. I find it rude and disrespectful because I'm there in a professional capacity and basically a mute, captive audience for whatever they want to spout. I don't know if it's because they're a leader of a flock that they believe their views are special and need to be shared, even to total strangers, but it does seem the people who most often bring political or social issues up when I'm on the job are church people.
Him: So do you vote
Me: Yep, I've already voted.
Him: Well, I hope you voted for Trump.
Me: I'm not usually one who wears my political leanings on my sleeve.
(Well done, Ed. He showed you the bait and you didn't bite. Maybe he'll take your subtle hint and pull his leanings off his sleeve.)
But that wasn't the case, and much to my chagrin, he was just getting started.
Him: Because we need to shake that place up and he's gonna do it.
Being on the clock and having to represent my company in a professional manner may mute my voice but it can't stop my mind from going full on rant.
Me: ( What do they do? Pass out fuckin scripts for you guys to recite with all this shakin it up crap? If you think shakin shit up is so rad, try doing it the next time you want a Pepsi.)
He then begins to talk to me like I've been living under a rock up until this very moment, telling me how Donald's been a successful business man and that maybe we need to start running this country more like a business.
Me: ( The casino always wins, unless it's a Trump casino, they always fold. Good one Ed, you just subconsciously burned him.)
He talked some more about economic stuff but I had to try and block it out and concentrate on my work This room was only 10'x10' to begin with and it felt like it was getting smaller.
When he finally come up for air there was about 10-15 seconds of awkward silence, I hadn't spoken a word since my sleeve comment. I thought, (Okay in 3, 2, 1, commence Hillary bashing), but that didn't happen and I was like, WTF?, he's going off script.
***
I would guess over half my friends are conservatives and there are a few, okay, maybe a couple that I have civil conversations with about politics and it's usually the same convo, bash each others candidate. If I were asked what Hillarys best asset is,"she ain't Trump" would be among my top answers. Sadly our choices are between a sneaky, conniving bitch and a scumbag. I'll choose sneaky and conniving over a scumbag every time. There have been successful sneaky and conniving world leaders but it's never gone well for the scumbags. But surprisingly, the Pastor never got around to bashing Hillary.
***
He did bash the media though, saying they lie about Trump (Cool, now you're back on script. But it seems to me they mostly just repeat what he says. Whatever, please, go on) and twist his words out of context. (I've never heard it put quite that way before, but what words could you possibly add to "I like to grab them by the pussy", that could pretty it up and add context to it?)
He then started talking about how Donald had been saved and it got really creepy. He's standing behind me so I can't see him and it almost felt as though he wasn't talking to me as much as he was simply talking to the room. (Is he trying to convince himself of his own words?) I had to get the hell out of there, the room was getting way too small and I was actually getting a little nauseous. I told him I had to put new batteries in my meter and went out to the truck. The clean air was nice and as soon as it hit me my head cleared and I got royally pissed at myself for my stupid, stupid, rookie mistake.
There were two issues with this fire system. The one that I was working on at the control panel and another that would involve going out into the church and tracking down a rogue duct detector that could be anywhere. He was older and shorter, there was no way he could match my stride and keep up. It would probably mean getting into the attic (it did) and as much as I dislike crawling around attics nowadays I knew I could find peace and quiet up there. So I grabbed my ladder and ditched him. I don't know how long he waited for me to return downstairs but when I got out of the attic he was in his office and stayed there until I left.
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