Not fast enough

Well this week has been quite lovely, work hasn't been the most hazard free environment to say the least. I won't bother with all the other exciting details, but I'll share today's incident.
So I was already late for work because I had to finish my Computer Science Lab that was due today, so I knew I'd be made fun by the guys. When I got to where my boss was, we set off to replace the burnt out street lamps all over campus. Most of these lights are a special bulb that is about the size of one of those foam footballs that you get thrown at you in football or basketball games. Another interesting fact about these little babies is that when running, the outer glass is somewhere between 150-200 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first few had gone well, when we found one that was reported to have been out, but it was running like the rest. As usual we decided to replace it just to be sure. So I made my little journey up the ladder, and opened up the lamp casing. (I could feel the heat coming off this thing already.) So Alan (my boss) yells up to me, "Just break it free fast and the let it cool off once it's off." Easier said than done Alan... So I thought I was doing it as fast as I could, but after about 2 seconds I saw and smelled smoke along with a prominent burning sensation coming from my hand. The bulb had melted the rubber coating on my glove and burnt a hole in the plastic. But don't worry, it gets better.

After this, he tosses me a piece of the cardboard box in which the new bulb came in and told me to use it as some extra insulation, and also to grab from the base where it wasn't so hot. (Maybe like 5 degrees or something.) But I soon realized that I couldn't grip the bulb so well with this stupid cardboard, so I squeezed a little tighter, and POP!

Well it wasn't really a pop I suppose, more like a BAM! Thankfully I have touchy reflexes, because the second I closed my eyes, I felt the rain of glass shards coming down on me. This really wasn't the best way to improve my day. I had only broken the outer bulb and the inner casing, so the glass holding the gas was still burning, at some ridiculously hot temperature. My boss told me to get down as he opened the pole to pull the fuse. As he got the base out with his pliers, I shook the glass out of my hair and shirt, and picked up the remaining pieces off the ground.

The old me would just sulk and think of how much of an idiot I made of myself, but not anymore. So what I broke a huge light bulb in front of countless students and my boss, at least I can laugh about it now, right? Mistakes are only mistakes if you don't learn from them.