Some people except it when other people tell them that something can or cannot be done. Some people see a task that is completed one way as the only way that it can be completed. In either case, I do not. That does not mean that I do not procrastinate. I like to work by myself. I like to work in groups too, but mostly I like to work by myself. Like this last week.
There is a task that must be preformed every year at my work place, it is one of the most onerous tasks there is. Taking down the tables. The front tables are massive 150 kg steel and steel mesh tops and four legs made from two cider blocks each. The tops are large too, two meters by four meters. Taking them down is a tough two man job, or a difficult four man job. This year, I did it by myself.
I am a big guy, 190cm tall, 130 kg mostly muscle (20kg of fat I could lose) and I can lift my own weight. I can lift these tables, barely if they are positioned correctly. As previously mentioned I have a high IQ, but I do not put any force behind that assertion because I know that that means very little, but what it does mean is that I can learn from my mistakes and I can figure out how to do things and do them efficiently.
So I was faced with a few problems, lifting the tables, the mesh is not attached to the frame and it has very sharp edges, moving the tables to the designated spot and stacking them on the ground. I should point out that I did have use of a forklift.
The first step took a little while; i had to wire the grill to the table so that it did not shift or come off. Next, I positioned the forklift so that the forks were close to the table, then I pulled the table over and flipped it on end and slid it on to the forks so that it was up right and balanced. Then I removed and stacked the cinder blocks and moved the forklift forward and repeated the process. When I had the nine tables dismantled and moved into position I then lowered each table on the the ground and moved it forward off the forks. I had to be careful, because if more than one table tipped over, I would be crushed.
The entire operation took about four hours, which was just about as long as it does with two people, one person four hours, two people two hours, but that is four man hours. Of course the best part was that I got no recognition for doing it this way and by myself. My boss did take the time to criticize me on a number of points, but he decided that he did not really want to help me. That is fine; at my workplace you learn to live without praise.
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