Station Opening Work

10/17/2006

One of the drawbacks (some people would consider it a benefit) of my job is that there's not a lot of manual labor. With all the snow drifts that occurred over the winter months, there are lots of opportunities to dig stuff out. I volunteered to go out and help shovel snow out of the outlying buildings. In addition the things we took down now have to go back up like the runway markers.

However, I didn't get to do this. Instead I walked out to RF to get some systems online. There was a UPS that needed to get plugged in. I attempted to move it and instead cut a gash in my leg that went through my trousers and thick long johns. 123 lbs was just a bit too heavy (I looked up the weight online). I didn't realize I'd cut myself until I felt something warm running down my leg a few minutes later.

I bandaged it up and headed back to the station, knowing I'd probably have to have stitches. It turned out that only 3 were needed. Still it was recorded as a 'Reportable Injury' which went against our safety record. There were people to notify and paperwork to fill out. In the end I couldn't 'go out to play'.

For a report on the boondoggle of putting out runway markers, see Heidi's blog.