Weblog: First Paycheque
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I got my first paycheque (direct deposit, actually) today, for a whopping $223.96! This covers the first two weeks I worked. I actually earned $1200.40, but off that come the usual government deductions, camp costs ($401.25), and equipment ($508.35). The cost of the saw and blades is deducted from the first four payqueques (the saw costs $1000, but we can sell it back to Apex for $750 at the end of the season, and we pay around $200 to be supplied with sharp blades for the season). The other equipment: Ear muffs ($27.36), face shield ($13.35), blade pouch ($12.54), large hydration pack (standard MEC model, $102.60), blade wrench ($25.00), hardhat ($7.98), safety glasses ($7.98). If you consider the money I spent on other stuff for the job before I came, I definitely haven't made any money yet.
Today we spent the last hour and a half of the day recutting what we had done in the morning. The quality wasn't up to snuff, especially since the area we cut is probably where the checker will be looking. Although I don't mind recutting (this is the first time I've had to do it), it's disappointing that we needed to. I try to be really careful with my quality, so I hope I didn't contribute too much to the general poor quality, but some misses and hangups (when a cut tree is leaning against a crop tree) are inevitable.
If it weren't for recutting, we probably could have gotten the block finished tomorrow and been on our way to PG a day early, not that it really matters to me. I'd be happier just staying at camp, it's starting to feel like home. At least this way we'll probably be able to leave earlier in the day, which means getting to PG earlier, which means less stress about finding a place to stay (for me always very stressful, for some reason). Most guys of course love the fact that we'll be in PG for Canada Day, but since I don't party, for me it's just annoying because everything will be closed and there won't be any public transportation. Also, it will be harder to find a quiet place to stay, and that's all I really want. I may end up flying back to Victoria for the 2.5 days off, because for the price of a decent hotel room for three nights I can probably get a plane ticket.
I didn't mention it before, but when we get back to camp after work, we're helping out around the truck. Pairs of us take turns filling all the gasoline canisters, as well as filling up the water jug. This isn't required, being the foreman's job, but Vincent is busy enough as it is. In addition, on days off, we all spend some time bending blades (bending alternating teeth in opposite directions), which makes them work much better. Most guys find blade bending tedious, but I love the mindlessness of it and could do it for hours if I didn't have so much lazing around to do.
I took some pictures today of the crew and the view, but they turned out really fuzzy, as many of my pictures have lately. I hope it's not a problem with the camera, but I think it's because I keep the camera in a ziploc bag in a tupperware container (maybe a little overboard, but I did lose the previous one to water), and the lens gets fogged up.
These days we're usually working together with Felix's crew (Felix is Vincent's identical twin brother, though I can now easily tell them apart). Aside from which truck we ride and and keep our equipment in, the two crews feel like just one big crew. It's kind of funny that the crews that are led by anglo foremen refer to us as the "french crews" in a condescending tone (there's one other crew led by a francophone), especially since I don't speak a word of French. I myself prefer the french crews and foremen, and if I come back again will probably request to be in one (and try to learn some French first).
One of the things I said before I left for this job is that I hope that by the end of the summer I will have a clearer idea of where to take my life. What seems to be coming into focus is going back to Auroville. It's the place that I daydream of the most when I'm imagining life after this job. I'll probably spend at least most of the year after I finish on Vancouver Island and/or the Gulf Islands seeing what kind of life I can build there, but if I don't find what I'm looking for, I think I know what I'll do. If I do go back to Auroville, there's a good chance that I'll do this work again for another summer or more. The second time the money is much, much better. (Apex even pays an extra $25 a days just for being experienced, ontop of starting at level 9, so I'd be making more than $200 a day right from the start, and they buy back the saw at full price), and that money will go a long way in India. Of course things always change, but that's my headspace for now.
Posted on Sat, 28 Jun 2020 at Ospika Camp, BC, CA (altitude 716m) (map/google earth)
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