Hubs' new job

So most of you probably don't know this but Ty started a new job yesterday. He was working at Ace Oilfield Construction here in Sylvan. When he started there back in October, we were under the illusion it was going to be something great. At the time there were three other companies who wanted him but Ace was the most desperate; the boss lady signed a contract stating he would not be laid off during spring break-up, he got the hourly wage he wanted, paid overtime, guaranteed 40 hours a week, and weekends off if he wanted them. He was the only Picker Operator and because of this, work was plentiful. His first paycheque was double what he took home at his prior job. It was awesome! The company seemed so nice, too; they wanted to meet me and the kids (the timing never worked out for this to occur, now I'm happy it didn't) and they seemed to treat him great.

THEN, this new guy was hired as Manager. And things just went downhill from there. The bottom line was that this guy was pissed off that Ty had that contract; without it you can be damned sure Ty would have been told to stay home most days and they'd call him in when needed. So it all came to a head last week when the Manager called Ty out of the blue and basically laid him off over the phone (real classy), telling him he had the next week and then that was it, he would no longer be an Ace employee.

Bastard, eh? Well guess what, we did up Ty's resume that night, he went and got a Drivers Abstract the next day, faxed and emailed a few places, and within two days there were five companies wanting to hire him. Once again, Ty had the option of choosing where he wanted to work. The only downside to that is that if all the companies are similar, its hard to make a decision. Luckily, because of Ty's contacts within the industry, he knew exactly what companies he didn't want to work for and which ones could be trusted to be good employers.

So he ended up hiring on with Bardens, which just so happens to employ his friend Kyle and Tucker's dad (Tucker is Gunnar's best friend) Troy. He was able to talk to them and get the scoop on the company. Though its one of those jobs where he has to be away a lot, at least we know that they treat their employees like KINGS. If a hotel stay is required, they don't send their guys to the cheapest dump just to save a buck; they're sent to high-quality hotels. Meals at restaurants are totally comped by the company; Kyle says he orders steak and lobster all the time and the company doesn't bat an eye, no questions asked. Any out-of-pocket expenses, such as stopping at a gas station to buy a pop and chips, they just save their receipts to be handed in and are reimbursed. Starting wage is decent, after three months there's a $4/hr raise.

So as much as I absolutely hate that he's going to be away a LOT, (Troy's wife told me one month he was only home four days), knowing that he's going to be taken care gives me some comfort. I worry about his eating habits; with his stomach issues he needs good, solid safe food. Eating on the road isn't easy with a serious allergy but at least the company won't bitch if the only thing on the menu he can eat is also the most expensive.

And as Hubs assured me, if this job turns out to be something that is just too hard on our family, he can always take a position at one of those other companies; all of whom have said that they'd love to have him if this job doesn't work out.

So we'll see how it goes. In a way its going to be like being a single mom. And I am NOT used to that! I know I can handle it, I'm very independent anyways and used to doing things for myself. I think the loneliness will be what gets me, not having that warm body beside me in bed, or even just that feeling of safety having your man around.

I'm looking into getting him an iPhone though, so we can Skype! His contract with Bell expires soon and won't that be a relief; we can Skype and he'll have something to keep him occupied during off-hours, all those apps and fun stuff like that.

I'm so proud of him!

UPDATE as of Friday, Jan. 14: Wednesday was the company's Orientation training course and Thursday was his first day of actual work. He came home last night just beaming! The company gave him a new Samsung cell phone (and its NICE, c/w leather case, charger and a vehicle charger, new in case), three pairs of brand new work coveralls with his name embroidered in BLACK (the other employees have white and are jealous now, haha), and a pair of winter coveralls; he gets to drive a brand-new dually work truck with leather interior; his work TRUCK truck (as in Boom Truck with crane & hook) is also new. He told me that most companies supply you with only ONE pair of coveralls (that you usually have to pay for, it comes off your cheque). To get three, PLUS a winter pair, FOR FREE, that's unheard of. And they're all real high-quality: the regular pairs are probably worth about $250 each and the winter one? Around $600! So that's $1100 worth of coveralls that they supplied him ON HIS FIRST DAY. He ran into a guy on a job yesterday that he used to work with at Providence and the guy was all happy that he also got a new pair of coveralls. He's been with Providence for over a year. So all this really tells us that Bardens is a top-of-the-line company, they really value their employees. Ty is so thrilled to be working with them and that makes me thrilled! :)