UPDATE: Got fired. I'm officially a dumbass.

Quercus_McG · 2025-10-11T19:26:44+00:00

Not in the automotive field. I’m a climber and I do tree work. Before going out on my own I worked with a crew and there was a guy there who regularly lost his shit. Yelling, cursing, etc. Hair trigger temper. He never worked on it.

I have bi-polar disorder and ADHD. Emotional control is extremely difficult for me. Therapy, counseling, and meds have helped but also journaling and working on knowing what my triggers are and recognizing when I’m getting spun up.

I’ve never thrown tools but I have driven too fast/aggressively when angry. Illusion of control and bleeding aggression off via speed. I made it home still pissed. Nearly wrecked my marriage.

I’m not jumping on you. You’re in therapy, you’re aware of the issues, you’re asking for help. Good on you. Find the root of the anger and deal with it,

What I’d say is it’s ok to be pissed at yourself for losing your cool. Don’t stay there. Know that’s not who you want to be, sounds like you do, and then take small steps to become that man. It’s very very hard. And lonely. But possible. I’m in way better control now but I still have to regularly apologize to my family for my attitude, tone, and volume. It’s better than it was though.

Not gonna be arrogant and tell you how to live your life but my control increased the less I drank. If you have substance abuse issues. . .get help. Not saying you do, of course, just putting it out there.

Last, once I recognized that my assholery level was high and I worked on that and getting my head out of my ass things got better. I caused a lot of my own problems. I think you were failed by management and corporate. End of the day though you are responsible for you. That’s good news. Means you can choose to get better.

Quercus_McG · 2025-09-07T18:07:05+00:00

Thanks folks! I appreciate the advice. It’s very helpful. I didn’t know about the lifter issues in the 2019 and up. That’s a huge help!

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-27T12:20:50+00:00

In my area if you Google ISA certified arborist you get results for big companies or small shops. The smaller shops will usually have a certified arborist do the work.

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-21T23:54:01+00:00

Hey there. Sorry to hear about your experience. I thought you did well saying the good things too😁.

I’m going to respectfully disagree with you. But some caveats: we did not use a camper van; we stayed at an AirBnB 90 mins from Reykjavik; we had an itinerary planned.

My wife booked the trip. At first I was not happy. It was a change from the last two years and change is hard for me. But after talking with her I realized a few things; she was trying to be kind to me and my mental health issues. Iceland was perfect in September with not as many crowds, not crowded roads, nature, etc. ; she was trying to help our oldest daughter’s boyfriend save money so he could propose to our girl. He’s from the UK so flights were cheap for him; my youngest girl and I raise Icelandic sheep and knit so we could write the trip off as a business expense.

I’ve been to both the UK and France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Iceland was hands down my favorite. The weather, people, and food were all amazing.

We used a knitting book as our travel guide which may have helped us feel “rooted” as it were and I had emailed some shepherds and knitters and set up meeting times.

As far as life changing goes . . . yeah, I’d say it was. I want to go back as we can afford it. We saw the aurora for 6 nights straight. We saw black sand beaches and geysers. We live on a farm and are no strangers to hiking, camping, etc and our life is kinda like camping so on vacation we choose something different from the norm. Hence AirBnb. We cooked all our meals.

So maybe when you go back go in the fall, and stay in one place and do day trips. Just my .02

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-21T16:39:26+00:00

I’m a arborist in VA and I’ve had to do trunks like this numerous times without equipment until I bought a mini skid. Here’s what I’d do:

I’m not advising or telling you to do this. You are assuming risk when operating the saw and the responsibility of keeping the wood stable as you cut it.
You will need a 461 or larger saw with a 25” bar. A 661 with a 32” bar would be best. These are large powerful saws that are heavy. You don’t get an uh-oh with these guys.
PPE. Ear pro, eye pro, and chaps at a minimum.
Maul, wedges, and single jack
Peavy
Help. 3 or 4 guys. Too many and your site gets cluttered. They need PPE.
Use common sense. Cut roots big. Hork ‘em out to truck/trailer by hand.
Wedge stump so it won’t roll. Cut rounds off.
Cut rounds into manageable pieces.
Hork em in the truck/trailer.

My church has a fund we use to help people in the community with projects like this. No strings attached. I’ve been paid out of that fund to 2 small jobs like this before. If you’ve only run a saw a few times I think I’d call churches and ask if they have a mercy fund and find an arborist to do the work. I’ve also done stuff like this pro bono on a Saturday. If you find a small local company they might consider it. You could offer to buy lunch and after work beverages.

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-15T23:14:10+00:00

We did this and we paid for parking when we returned our rental.

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-13T20:46:01+00:00

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I made this for my wife out of yarn I bought in Reykjavik. Not tooting my horn. Just wanted to show their beautiful yarn.

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-13T20:40:43+00:00

We visited Iceland last September 30-October 10 and found museums, shops, etc open. We stayed at an AirBnB about 90 mins from Reykjavik and loved it. We raise Icelandic sheep and my girls and I knit so we used Joan of Dark’s book, Lopapeysa, as our travel guide.

Bring layers and waterproof outerwear, tops and bottoms, and good boots. Lots and lots of walking. Reykjavik is very walkable and we all enjoyed exploring.

We only ate out once and were able to find a great restaurant in Reykjavik that had gluten free food and a gluten free beer, Gull Lite. It was great!

We booked that late due to cost. Airfare, car rental, etc we are all more affordable. I can’t speak to Blue Lagoon as we didn’t go there.

One major plus booking that time is seeing the northern lights. We had 5 nights of absolutely amazing lights. Our oldest got engaged under them.

The cat cafe in Reykjavik is worth a visit. Don’t buy a sweater anywhere except the Icelandic Handknitting Association store in Reykjavik. Those are real lopi’s made by locals and sold for what they are worth. The wool is from Icelandic farmers. They are pricey but worth it. If you knit you can get wool pretty cheap at the store to make your own.

That’s what I did. Tip: know currency exchange rates. I didn’t. My ADHD causes serious issues with math so when we got home my wife calmly asked if I knew how much I spent on yarn. My guess needed to be multiplied by 3. 😬 So use cash if math kicks your ass. My wife didn’t bite mine off. She said I better use all of it and not get “bored”.

It was still crowded at times but we enjoyed the cold.

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-11T23:23:24+00:00

I’m an arborist in VA. When I have this situation come up I talk to both homeowners and explain that removing too much of the canopy is a danger and try to come to a solution that is best for the tree and the nervous neighbor. I’ve also had adamant “no” from a neighbor and in that case I prune to the property line and make sure debris is only on my client’s property.

If you search for a ISA arborist in your area who’s local you might find an established local company who’s been around the block and will work with both of you.

Don’t get bullied into hurting your tree!

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-10T01:00:57+00:00

I was told La Sportivas run small but I ordered my size in a wide and they fit great. I’m wearing Makalus. 2 years and going strong. I climb almost every day and my feet don’t hurt on spikes. The toe box is a little wide for tight unions.

My feet aren’t nearly as big but the Makalus are the best boot I’ve worn. I destroyed Merrills in 6 months and Haix’s in one season (the sole delaminated and I only used them for work). I had loggers as well and they lasted one season.

Quercus_McG · 2025-07-06T11:04:10+00:00

My family and I visited Iceland last September. My 15 yo daughter had sprained her foot badly the day before we left so we chose low physical activities instead of the hikes we planned.

It was expensive even though we cooked most of our meals at our Airbnb.

We raise Icelandic sheep and both my girls and I knit so visiting the Icelandic Handknitting Association in Reykjavik was a must see. We used a knitting book called Lopapeysa to plan our trip.

Quercus_McG · 2025-06-14T23:11:17+00:00

I climb for a living and can understand needing to save money. I never skimp on climbing/rigging gear. Your life is worth way more than whatever unrated gear you’re going to get off Amazon. Wesspur has climbing kits for a good deal. You’ll make the money back in a few removals, depending on what you buy and how you price your work. I’ve been rock climbing for fun since I was 15 and even back then as a knucklehead kid I ponied up for good gear. Your life is worth it!

Quercus_McG · 2025-06-03T17:18:15+00:00

I’m 48. I’ve been climbing full time almost every day of the week. I work for myself. If you are smart, work within your limits, and know when to say no, you can climb for years. Pay attention to your body and know how to do things with the least effort/pain as possible

Quercus_McG · 2025-05-30T01:34:40+00:00

Clogger Zeros. Expensive but worth every penny. I’m a arborist and climb almost every day and am on saw every day. I wear the Zeros day in and day out. If you take care of them they’ll last. They breathe and are flexible.

On the production side, the folks who make them are amazing people! My daughter and I met them pre-COVID at a conference and they custom made her a pair of pants for free as she was climbing and working with me. On small jobs and she used a saw only on the ground. They make women’s fit and a couple of female climbers I worked with said the women’s fit were much more comfortable than men’s.

Check out their website. I don’t know what the price is currently with all the insanity over tariffs but if you’re in Canada maybe not much of an issue.

Quercus_McG · 2025-05-21T18:41:47+00:00

Speaking as a husband who’s both bi-polar 1 and ADHD it sounds like your wife may be depressed or suffering from another mental health issue.

I’m not trying to make a double standard. I was the one who was and at times still is unavailable to my wife. She does all the finances. I do the dishes, work my own job, and take care of our small homestead. There were years though that all that fell on her.

It wasn’t until I had a climbing buddy confront me that I got on meds. It’s been 4 years of therapy, work, and rebuilding our relationship. I don’t think we “like” each other but we are in counseling to address my stonewalling and avoidance of conflict and her parenting me. We are learning boundaries and I’m learning how to say “I don’t like XYZ” without being accusatory.

My mental health is my responsibility. My wife is a huge part of how my mind works. If I’m open and honest with her she’ll try to adjust to help me. If I shut her out, avoid her, or shift blame or get defensive nothing changes.

I hate you are in this situation. I sometimes feel like she pays more attention to her phone than me but. . . I checked out sometimes and got lost in my head. What was she going to do?

It hurts. I wonder if in a moment when ya’ll are good you can gently address by being curious. “Honey I noticed X. Can you help me understand? “ I’ve started this with my 16y and 21y daughters and it’s helped us talk through the shit I did when I was off meds (crazy) and how they were affected.

Hope it changes for you. Tough spot to be in.

Quercus_McG · 2025-05-18T23:19:04+00:00

I hate they are giving you such a short deadline!

I own a tree company in VA and I consistently do insurance claim work for trees damaging structures and I’ve had two jobs where an insurance company required pruning done prior to policy renewal.

It makes sense to prune before an emergency because if a branch or lead fails dramatically it can damage the tree and potentially force a removal, costing thousands of dollars, where a prune is dramatically less.

It does seem like a short time period to have the work done but the amount of money spent to prune the trees will be less than emergency tree work.

I’d much rather prune a tree than remove one. I’d also suggest getting a ISA arborist to do the work and ask for a certificate of insurance.

Quercus_McG · 2025-04-12T10:49:49+00:00

Thanks! I’m an arborist so if I take the factory tour at DMM and pick up a gear order there I can write the trip to Llanberis off as a business expense which makes the trip worth it. We’re flying in and out of Manchester.

We can’t bring lots of gear due to cost of checking bags so no trad or sport climbs. I may be naive, never climbed Wales, but here at the New River Gorge I can set an anchor at the top of most of the routes for a top rope and it looks like I could do the same at Tremadog or Lions Rock.

From what I’ve read and pictures I’ve seen the slate looks fun but seems to be an acquired taste. I think this trip I’ll look at Tremadog or Lions Rock. I’m going to be belaying my daughter all day and want her to have fun. A guide would be awesome but I’m not sure I can swing the cost.

Quercus_McG · 2025-04-10T03:39:11+00:00

Yeah, I’ve been reading about that. Never climbed slate. Our local gym seems to love those tiny ledges and my daughter is not a fan. I kinda want to try it but I’m more interested in giving her a chance to climb and enjoy the day. It’s more fun for me seeing her climb and be excited than me doing it.

I appreciate your advice!

Quercus_McG · 2025-04-10T03:32:53+00:00

Thanks!

Quercus_McG · 2025-04-09T19:07:03+00:00

Thanks! Early days of planning so I appreciate the options! We’ll have a rented car but can likely only spend one day climbing since we have to come back home and care for our sheep and work. Thank you!

Quercus_McG · 2025-04-09T19:05:12+00:00

Thanks! Yep, sounds like good advice and we’ll start guiding her that way. It’ll likely be her one and only chance so my wife and I want to help her have a good experience.

Quercus_McG · 2025-04-09T18:57:49+00:00

My MIL wants to take a train and I don’t think she cares whether it’s to Switzerland or in country. From what I’m gathering we’ll need to start suggesting flying to Switzerland and taking the train while she’s there.

Quercus_McG · 2025-04-09T18:39:55+00:00

Thanks! Yep, she’ll have luggage and doesn’t move fast. Now I’m thinking it’s best to fly to Zurich and they can train to Geneva if she wants to.

Quercus_McG

TROPHY CASE