Buckeye Mike

Last week was crazy busy on all fronts in my life. At work, just when it seemed we had hit a rare lull in new projects and I was going to be able to catch up, the flood gates opened with new fires. I spent all week in the car running from Newark to Gahanna, from Worthington to Mt. Vernon, and down into Chillicothe. At the warehouse our capacity went from half full to where are in the world we going to put all this? Not bad considering a large commercial loss that we thought we had in the bag slipped through our fingers. All in all not a bad week for business, even if it was chaotic at times. On the home front, we were adapting to having the boys at home. The ex wife had asked us to take them while she got some things sorted out, and for two weeks we got them off to school, did homework with them after school, and said best part worst part every night at dinner. Between sleep overs and football dinners, we kept on the go and loved every minute of it. Last Thursday we all watched John-...

It took me a long time to get it. A long time to figure out why, at 19, my parents would ask me to pay rent or move out just because I wanted to take a year off of school. I just needed a break, I explained. After all, I had been in school as long as I could remember, and I needed to just take some time to breath. College was hard, after all. In high school, I was able to kind of skate by and make it ok. But now my classes and labs and study work were dominating my time, and I had far better things to do. I remember my Dad telling me I would never go back. I assured him he didn't know what he was talking about. And I remember my Mother telling me that to get what you want, you have to put in the work. No one gets a free ride. I rolled my eyes, declared my independence, and set out into the world. After years of struggling in a failing marriage, trying to make a living out of flipping burgers, and feeling like I was treading water, the haze started to lift. I remade my life by cha...

I very rarely use this blog as any type of political forum, for a couple of different reasons. The first is that I never want to get caught up in the rhetoric and partisanship that drags our country down more and more by the day. And the second is because I am a story teller, and I enjoy journaling my own personal experiences so I can look back over time and see where I came from and where I am headed. Making sure history doesn't repeat itself is a big part of who I am, and spending the time to re-read different posts helps me with that. but today, the blog will be very political, as I feel like no one is pointing out the obvious. I was never a George W. Bush fan. I feel like his 8 years in office saw this country spiral downward  while he was being less than honest, fumbling for words, and seemingly a little lost in the sauce. The right will tell you it was because of the mess Clinton left. The left will tell you it was because he was furthering his own personal agenda. I think ...

Another very busy week at work found me at my office this morning, trying to catch up on some paperwork and get organized before the new week begins Monday. Having so many projects going at once means that it is very difficult to find desk time during normal business hours and, when I do, the constant interruptions still prevent me from getting much accomplished. I get more administrative tasks accomplished in a few hours on Saturday morning than I do the rest of the week. As I sat punching in line items on a large fire estimate this morning, one of my colleagues walked into the office to get a little catch up done himself. A seasoned technician, Patrick is currently a project manager in training and we discussed the transition and everything that comes with it. The other project manager, AJ, and I are both anxious to get him fully up to speed, believing that having a third fully functional pm will take a great deal off of our own plates. Similar to me, Patrick came from the restau...

First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Michael Slusher and I am the Fire Project Manager at PuroClean Restoration Experts in Blacklick, Ohio. I have been writing a blog for about two and a half years. It started when I was overseas, in Santiago, Chile, running a disaster restoration project in the aftermath of a strong earthquake. Originally I began posting here as a way for my family and friends to stay up to date on how I was doing and the progress we were making. But the blog took off from there, giving me the opportunity to journal my experiences and thoughts so I can look back in the years ahead and see where the path has taken me. I shared most posts, and encourage you to go back though the archives and read a few. Some will make you laugh, some will make you cry, and some will convince you that I am just a little crazy. But no matter your reaction, I hope you will enjoy as I now share my thoughts with the people who like our work on facebook, as well as with my loyal re...

A few weeks ago, just before I was settling in to watch a Reds game, the sound went out on the TV. Not that this is a momentous occasion, as the TV wasn't on all that much anyway. With each of the boys having their own set in their rooms, the big one in the den was only watched when Tiffany kicked me out of the bedroom because she was not interested in watching baseball. Never the less, we put a new one in the budget and ordered it last week from Walmart's online store. And yesterday, I got my text that it was ready at the Morse Road store, a few miles from home. My Walmart experience today was probably not unlike many of your own over the years. I made my way through the maze of a parking lot, finally finding a place about 6.72 miles from the front door. I took my online ticket to the service desk and no one was there. I waited a minute or so. The phone on the desk rang and a girl came around to answer. She held up her index finger to show me it would be just a minute and an...

I like helping people, I really do. Taking someone by the hand at ten o' clock at night after their house just burned down and assuring them we can make it all better is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Handing someone a dollar out of the console of the car at a stop light is a no brainer. Giving back a little of the good fortune I have been blessed with is easy when you grew up with the parents I did. The examples the instilled in me are a part of my core values and a major part of what I teach the boys. Its all about Karma. All about paying it forward. So when we were fortunate enough to land an entire inventory of clothing and blankets, we were excited about being able to help out on a larger scale. As we sorted the clothing in the basement, we realized there were a lot of things that the shelters probably wouldn't take. Rabbit fur coats, wedding dresses, and Alfani leather jackets aren't typically something you see a homeless person wearing. So we decided to...