JustinRuiz.com

There are a lot of things in life that suck. I’m sure that if I asked you to make a long list of things that suck, that you would be able to make one without any problem at all. However, despite how bad things can get, it often times can make for an interesting story.

I remember when I was working in Wyoming, and I was doing one of my last jobs before I moved to Boise to wrestle again. I was at a power plant, and I was driving the vac truck to support a team of hydro blasters. We were trying to unclog their drainage system. Little did I know that it was their sewer system, and I would be sucking up human waste with my truck. The people from the plant that were over seeing our job also didn’t mention that fact until after I had already pulled and emptied one load. They even watched me eat my lunch while I was emptying the truck the first time. If I would have known what I was working with, I definitely would have waited to have lunch later when I could wash my hands. It still makes me a little nauseous just thinking about it.

After I finished the job and was on my way back to the shop, I had to stop at the gas station. There was no way that I was going to have that filth around me any longer than I had to. I pulled into the station and headed straight to the restroom. I threw my coveralls in the trash and scrubbed everything on my body that I could without fully undressing. I felt so dirty. Then when I got back to the truck, I used a whole pack of antiseptic wipes to make sure I wasn’t driving in all those germs.

That experience sucked but it makes for an interesting story when I tell people about it. Just think of all of the hard things that you’ve had to do, but then when you tell people about it, it has somehow become something that you are so proud of. I remember having practices that I thought would never end because they were so tough. Now whenever I am with a group of guys talking about tough practices, I always pipe up and put my two cents in.

One thing that is a challenge now is going out to eat with my kids. Anybody with young kids knows how fast dining out can go south. It is like kids have an instinct that tells them when to start getting crazy and they like to do it when you’re enjoying your meal. It can be frustrating as well as really suck, but I know that twenty years from now that I will miss those times and talk about them all of the time. Hopefully things don’t suck for you, but if they do, perhaps it will make for a good story later on down the road.