Sometimes I hate construction workers.

So when you're working on a job that has guests/clients on site (like guests at the Paris, for instance) there's certain rules, like no cursing, screaming or loud tools (such as jackhammers) before 10am, since guests are in the other floors. it's called courtesy.

Well, my journeyman starts up with a TE-76 (a type of jackhammer) at 7am. I can feel the noise and vibrations reverb against the floor, walls, it's awful, but I'm used to it, since I'm around it. All of a sudden this hotel guest appears from nowhere, in pajamas and bare feet in our very dangerous workspace...I mean broken glass and tile everywhere, drywall all over, tools and twisted metal jutting out of the torn walls... and yells out over the noise, "Please, no more, I'm trying to sleep." Thick accent...thought it was Italian, but when he started cursing, it was definitely French. I tried telling him, in English and French, that we'll stop for now, we're sorry, I'll tell my foreman and we'll do it later...etc., etc. Trying to make things good. I mean, he must have been desperate to walk into a construction area like that. But no... my journeyman says, "My foreman told me to do this, you aren't my foreman, so I'm not stopping." And kept going, after whispering, "Goddamn foreigner." (!!!) So the guest calls security, they get involved, my foreman and general foreman are involved, everyone's freaking out over it...by the end of it all, he got transferred to a different crew, I got a different journeyman, and I was the one on the end of the TE-76 for 6 hours. (Hehe...for having a clotting problem, you wouldn't believe the extensive bruising my arms have now!) And what's worse, I heard the guy (my now-former journeyman) laughing about it later. How was that funny?

And, off-topic, happy anniversary to my parents!! Fifteen years today.