Adventures of a Bugman Part 2

First, apologies for the long delay.  I have been busy with visitors and drama that has had me...busy!  Yay, a good thing!  So, I am getting this out as fast as I can.  This is my book, my life and I am doing it right.  So patience will be rewarded!

Working for AAA Pest Control meant that I had a job!  In only two weeks, I got a job in supposedly tough times.  850/month was also decent for a no-experience job.  The commute was my introduction to the MUNI transit system of San Francisco, where I would take two buses to go to the North end of San Francisco.  It took over an hour for an approximately 5 mile ride.  But since AAA didn't let me take the truck home so I could smell like malathion night and day, and no wheels yet, MUNI!  I also wanted to get in to acting, so I auditioned for a play and got it.  Best of all, it was close to my office, so after work, I would take my stinky self over to the theater in the Presidio and then go home on the bus at 10 at night.  Hey, at 24, I better be able to do that!

Now for a little primer about the pest control industry.  Right now, I will tell you that if you have a guy coming around your home monthly to "spray" for ants roaches rats mice (standard contract), you are paying for absolutely NOTHING.  Nada.  Wasting your money and time and you are getting ripped off.   I know many people from the industry and in 21 years of being in either pest control or environmental health, we all know what is BS and what is real pest control.

99% of pest control is sanitation and environmental modification.  I did not know this when I first was "trained" by Todd the weirdo.  The mantra for AAA was "Did you get 20 stops today?"  That is what mattered.  I remember when the owner, Mr. Killar, hired me, I was told that if I work for him for one year, I can work for any company.  I get it now.  Any shyster company with spray jocks who go in and out of buildings and houses blowing a few gallons of some chlorofluorocarbon that for all intensive purposes, was useless.  My training was mostly not a good view of pest control. 

One thing I did learn is that there are a lot of bugmen that love to party.  Drink, smoke cigarettes, smoke pot, and lots of them did it during the day while working.  Ouch!  Todd the weirdo likes pot as much as I did (and still do!) and he would ask if I wanted something and we would park in a lot on Franklin Street in SF and he would go to a storefront and five minutes later come back with some Thai weed or some other kind of smoke.  That's about the only real "training" that I learned at AAA. 

The good thing is that I quit after 6 months.  This was a very good job in that I learned the streets of San Francisco very quickly, not the easiest place to get around at first.  I also had my applicator's certificate, which I earned by taking tests from picture books on roaches, rodents, applicators and pesticides.  Oh, a little about sanitation.  It was very easy and at least I left AAA with a potential for more work and a great pot connection!

The bad news is, of course, that I quit, so I needed the bucks asap.   So, I got a funky security job with Pinkerton, checking smiling and waving the automatons who worked for PG&E in to their daily grind.  It was not too fun.  Minimum wage, so minimum I was eating bologna sandwiches, which for a Jew, is like ham.  Ugh!  I quit that fun job after 4 months, on Christmas day, when I volunteered to make overtime.  I remember telling the 'sergeant', the big wannabe cop type guy that it was my last day.  He told me I could come back anytime.  I said thank you and knew that I never would want this craptacular job ever again! 

Next:  Ken Learns REAL Pest Control - And LOVES IT!!!