Dealing with burnout can be a real beyotch. My last bout with it was during the summer of 2010. I suddenly found myself doing things I’d never done before during my 7 years as a maintenance technician. I was scowling at residents as they walked by and rolling my eyes…
I’ve been on both sides of this issue. I’ve dealt with shops that had the bare minimum to work with and shops that had more than enough to work with. Needless to say, working in a skeleton shop annoys the piss out of me. Early in my maintenance career I…
The hider. It may surprise some people how rampant and common this problem is. If you’ve worked in the apartment industry long enough then you know who I’m talking about. It’s the person that you only see when they’re clocking in and clocking out. Or, they’re standing over you blabbing…
The debate that has been going on for decades. And will continue to rage between management and maintenance techs for years to come. Should the company pay for a maintenance tech’s tools? Yes they should! Now, before you feel like putting my head in a vice let me explain. Does…
August. Even though I haven’t worked in student housing for 6 years, just looking at that month on a calendar still spikes my anxiety. The 16 hour work days, Monday through Sunday, for 3 weeks. The 100 U-Hauls jockeying for position. Parents hollering at the office staff claiming that their…
Ah yes. The lowly maintenance man that doesn’t know anything. Usually a shady, filthy looking, lazy, Jerry-rigging hack that fixes very little in between his naps. Am I right? Nope. Actually dead wrong! I’m not sure when this happened, but there seems to be a stigma tied to the maintenance…
Maintenance techs who know their way around air conditioners are always in high demand in the apartment industry. You’ll pretty much have a job for the rest of your life with HVAC knowledge and skills. I enjoy HVAC work and continue learning it every day. Like my pal Steve Lav…
I know, I know. I hear what you’re saying. “Who the hell are you Lex? And who the hell are you to tell me about the music business? I’ve never even heard of you!” That’s a fair assessment. But I know what I’m talking about because I stayed in cover band land…
Yes, you read that correctly. You have to get gangster! No, I’m not talking about the narcotics dealing “man child” wearing saggy pants and a crooked hat. Actually, dealing narcotics was a no-no among the real gangsters and they would whack you for it. Drug dealing brought too much heat…
How I Started My Financial Journey The van was stinky. My band and I were on our way home to Tallahassee, Florida from a gig we played in south Florida. And I was disgusted with myself. Not because we had a bad gig. But, because the gig was Friday night and it was…