Saturday, January 31, 2015

"Not Carrying a 1 and the "Gods""

Electrical Contracting is a tough gig and not for the faint-hearted!!! I'm doing quite well with approximately $220,000 worth of projects, either started or about to start. Not bad for someone who has only been back in business for just over 9 months. This week I was going over my bid for my Eloy Health Clinic. Trying to see how much materials were in my quote, mainly 3/4 EMT (electro metallic conduit) I'd bid. The big trick in contracting is to see how your bid stands-up, compared to what you actually put into the project. I'd noticed I had used about 1,000 feet of less 3/4 EMT. That was the good news, the bad news. When adding up my bid, I forgot to carry a '1'!!! I knew I was kind of dumb low on bid day. The female architect on the project from Tucson, told me when she meet me on the project. 'I wanted to meet the guy with dumb low Electrical quote'. I stood with my bid and said I'd missed a few items and that RC Lurie Lighting had caught the Lighting Controls I's missed. Not knowing at that "Time" my math error while adding up my labor, material, overhead and profit.

I only sleep about 5 1/2 too 6 hours a night. While going through my bid at 11:00 PM at night, looking for a mistake in the amount of 3/4 conduit, I found my mathematical error. I Had forgot to carry a '1' while adding up my bid. That '1' was worth $10,000 dollars, I was puking all over myself literally. Me who prides himself of my math skills. The man who did over 30 million in Electrical quotes over the last 5 or 6 years. The man who got Sunbelt Electric over 3 millions in Electrical project, blew his own bid. How could I've done this to myself??? How much money was I going to lose on just my second project back contracting? The next morning while getting off the freeway and into Eloy, a Eloy cop pulled me over for  going 23 MPH over the speed limit. What else could go wrong?

I've always written that the "Gods" have much more power over mankind's day to day lives, than anyone realizes. And not carrying that '1' in my bid is a perfect example. My bid is fine now thanks to the "Gods"!!! As I tell folks when your doing electrical project in existing buildings, you need "God" on your side. You just never know what lays inside those walls you can't see. I knew going, in my number was dumb number according to others. One of the first things I tried to do was mover the SES (Service Entrance Section) closer to my sub-panels (3) to cheapen up the cost of my feeders. The female architect shot that idea down. As I like to say she was, 'just throwing my money around'. As I got further into the project I'd noticed things starting to fall my way. $500 worth of A/C disconnects in my bid, were actually existing. Their was 2 inch conduit in the building that I converted into my telephone conduit run to the IT room. That save tons of labor and about 50 feet of 2 inch EMT conduit. My conduit take-offs for the whole project was 1,000+ feet over, another $500 in savings. The local phone company had me put up a 18" X 18" X 6" pull box for their Telco wire coming into the building. Pinal County employ had me up-grade that to a 36" X 36" X 6" pull box. Because that became another change order, I'd picked up another $300. The day I had my digger doing my conduit runs from the building to the Power Poles across the alley. it was discovered that the architect had made a mistake and the Telco conduit needed to go another 50 feet to another Power pole. Here I picked up the cost for my trenching in my base bid as an extra. Their was another $1,200 in savings. I'm thinking to myself, their is a "God". Lots of other little thing made for another few hundred dollars in savings. With the $7,000 I'd built into my base bid and me doing some of the labor helped. Harry a Navajo kid running the job for me, was also bringing the hours in under my quoted hours.

If their was to be some real savings, then the SES needed to be moved closer to my Sub-panels. By fate and nothing to do with my dumb ass. The order came from the architect, the SES needed to be mover further to the north. She'd put the SES exactly where I needed it in the first place, to save a few thousand dollars in Feeders. Their is a "God'!!!. Now my bid looked great and I'll make a few bucks on the project. I wanted to show other contractors and the General Contractor on this project, I would stand behind a bad quote. When most others would have bailed on the project when they found out their bid was dumb low. Without ever trying to work things out and bite the bullet.

For some unknown reason the "Gods" wanted me in Eloy. I never add my quotes up without first checking my numbers several "Times". Even when I'm awarded a contract, I always crunch the number once again to make sure everything is OK, before signing my contracts. But some how in this instance, every "Time" I checked my numbers. The same '1' never got carried over to the next column. 'Divine Intervention'? Bottom line I got work in a "Time' when other Electrical contractors are suffering in the bad economy. Not only did get protected from the "Gods", by them knowing what was down the line to save my ass from myself. If anyone thinks that they are in control of their lives, that's just being dumb and uneducated. Every day you awake, you need those above to protect you from these who live amongst mankind and yourself. As for the Eloy police officer who pulled me over, he was dead serious when telling me I was 23 MPHs over the speed limit. For here in Arizona anything over 20 MPH the speed limit. Means you go to jail, you do not go further down the road. The Eloy police officer came back to my car, a different man. With a big smile on his face the officer said to me, 'I'm letting you go with a verbal warning, have a nice day'. This has happened a few "Times" when I've been stopped going 20+ MPHs over. Never have I gone to jail or even be given a written warning. In fact the Highway Patrolman who pulled me over for the same thing in Page Az.. Came back to my car after taking my drivers license and registration, a patrolman who couldn't be kinder to me. Even asking me if their was anything he could do for me. This is the video of Glen Canyon he recommended I video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVr6kSs0VhI  Not even a clue what must come up on the computers when my driver license is run. What ever it is, it turns the policeman who pulled me over into a lamb.

Been Chem-trailing here in central Arizona most of the first part of the week. After 3 days of spraying you get what you got. Cloudy and rainy for 2 days now, just as the Superbowl is being played here and the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament. Found out the good folks in Eloy know all about the Chem-trailing. You see in Eloy, you have the World Famous Sky Diving Center, where most of the Sky Diving records are set. The valley Eloy sets in, is an ancient dry lake bed, some 40 to 50 miles across. You can watch the Chem-trial aircraft from horizon to horizon, their is no hiding. One day their will be about 5 to 10 Chem-trail aircraft in the skies above Eloy. The next day, absolutely no Chem-trail aircraft in the air over Eloy. Where did all the aircraft go? They never where passenger aircraft, more than likely the aircraft spraying the chemical concoction in the skies over Arizona. Are stationed at Pinal Airpark just north of Tucson. Where you are told the aircraft sitting their are in mothballs and are not un-marked Chem-trail aircraft. For supposed aircraft sitting in mothball, you are not allowed inside Pinal Airpark to take photos or even get in. I tried to get in the airpark with no luck. Get a good pair of binocular and you will also, their are no markings on the Chem-trail aircraft. Just a plain white paint with no markings for identification. As always, try and warn others, even if they think your nuts. After all, the government would never do anything to harm little old me, would they???

"God" bless

bye

 PS: "Alien"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

THAT'S WHAT THEY MAKE CALCULATORS FOR!