Saturday, May 03, 2008

See, I have to wear a hard hat some days

I work at a chemical plant, and while I mainly work with computers from my office, there are times when I need to don my hard hat, safety glasses and other "stuff" in order to go out in the plant.

I have been going out into the plant to take pictures of all the employees for an upcoming 50 year plant celebration. Our facility started making fumed silica in March, 1958. With my "Camera Nazi" tendencies, I volunteered to serve on the Commemorative DVD Committee, only to find that I had been appointed as the Committee head. Being a scrapbooker, I immediately lobbied for a Commemorative Photo book to supplement the DVD (because the retirees that worked here for 30+ years really don't want a DVD - I bet some don't even own DVD players - Plus I want a book). Folks were on board with the idea until the reality of the Celebration's cost hit. And my Photo Book was a huge chunk of the costs, coming in at $10,000 (250 books at $40 apiece). "The Book", as it is now referred to, was the first thing cut from the budget.

BUT - I will still pull together a photo book and have it available for people who want to pay for one. Our Financial Controller (ie - Bean Counter) thought that was a good compromise (I think he was feeling really guilty about cutting "The Book"), and several people have already mentioned that they would be willing to fork out the dough for one.

So, I have been running around the plant for the past week and a half, taking pictures of everyone - almost 200 active employees - and everyone will be included in the DVD / book. I snapped a picture of Scott walking from the maintenance department:


After I took one of the maintenance worker's picture, he took the camera from me and said "if you are going to take my picture, I am going to take yours". Fine - no problem. And here is the picture he took:



Like the hard hat and safety glasses? And that green thing on my hip is an escape respirator (in case some vile chemical gets discharged into the air and we get enveloped in the toxic cloud - obviously, not a frequent occurrence).

It's all in a hard day's work.

5 comments:

Traci 9:12 PM  

I've been a hard hat worker a few times.. I was in quality and then purchasing at a railcar manufacturing facility. Every time I'd go out on the floor with the gear on people would look at me funny. They'd never look at each other like that.. must be just because I was an "office worker" so it caught more attention?

Nothing like a hardhat to make you feel attractive either, lol.

Anonymous 12:26 AM  

I am *not* laughing my butt off...

Michelle 6:51 PM  

Shirley - that's so cool! I hope your photobook does well.

I never got to wear a hard hat when I was at the plant, but I did wear my safety glasses and my steal-toed shoes. Gosh, that seems like eons ago.

gaye 8:58 PM  

Just love that hard hat and safety glasses look...I remember working at a plant and wearing the safety glasses, steel-toed shoes, and ear plugs. I may still go back to that one day. I can't laugh too hard. My pics of those days look just as good. It's too bad you couldn't get HIS pic looking so good, isn't it?!

Kaye 12:54 PM  

I think you look cute in your hard hat and safety glasses!

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