As with any job...
If you don't know or are not sure about something, ASK!
What I HATE is someone who goes ahead and does something dangerous and stupid. I can tell they don't know a thing about what they are doing. What I LIKE is when someone says to me "I'm not sure the way to do this..." or "How would you do this?". I'm more than happy to take time out and explain. Or just to confirm they would be doing something the right way. I have all the time in the world to explain how to do things safely. Over and over if necessary until it sinks in. I don't want to see anyone get hurt. And someone getting hurt falls into the category of "not getting the work done" (see below).
Those who do not keep their jobs are those who... are late for work, are lazy, don't do their share of work, etc. (They are not getting the work done.)
Basically everyone wants the work to get done and if you are helping toward this goal, then you are doing good!
If you are preventing the work from being done, then you will not last long.
And if you do something like go out and party, then not show up for work and don't call the boss, and do this several times, bye bye! (Worst offense!)
If you have a valid reason for not being able to make it to work and you call the boss and explain, that is ok. These guys are human and understand.
Anyway as you can see, the general idea is to get the work done and pull your fair share.
Other than that, these guys like to pull "pranks" on new guys. For example while you are eating lunch, someone might take the chain off your saw and put it on backwards. Then after lunch you go to saw something, have a bit of difficulty, and they all get a big chuckle. Or they may "tamper" with your lunch. Etc. If you are riding to work with these guys, might want to get even with them by eating a bunch of beans the night before. Then blast away all the way to work!
For cold water, take some soda pop plastic bottles and fill them with water the night before, but not all the way full. Leave some air in (or they will split). Then lay them sideways in the freezer (not up). These will be frozen in the morning, then will melt slowly as the day goes on and you have cold water for most of the day.
For energy snacks, corn is very good. A little corn (doritos, chips, fritos, whatever) goes a long way. I read somewhere that way back in the 1800's, when people were on horseback, they would take corn with them because it was lightweight and they could survive on a small amount of it for a long time. Anyway works for me. Others like energy bars, energy drinks, etc.
