Today was a good day.
What with the past injury and illnesses we have suffered in the previous month or so, I found it exhilarating to be working at roughing in today. Rough-in is a part of an electrician's job I really do enjoy. It involves running conduit and cable through framing, pulling wire, identifying circuits and terminating fixtures. It is hard work, indeed; not quite so demanding as digging trenches and the like but enough to feel it by the end of the first hour.
I like to work with my hands. I enjoy creating, really, and as an electrician there is definitely a sense of power in that. With my skills and knowledge, I can aid in such basic creation. Nearly everything requires electricity now, and it goes so far beyond light fixtures and televisions. What of fiber optics, security systems, fire alarm stations? These are specialties for an electrician, and ones I am learning.
It may sound silly to some. However, by the end of the day our crew stood at the ready, waiting for send-off by our foreman. Our muscles ached, we were all drenched in sweat, and quite a few of us were bleeding from the minor lacerations that accompany such work. We put in a damn fine shift, building this mega-resort. Sometimes I wonder at the fact that hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals alike will pass through the main doors, and not give a second glance to the one-of-a-kind escalating stairway (the only one of its size in the world), or the million dollar chandeliers. They will not ponder at how the dance floor of the nightclub moves for them, or how the keycard for their hotel room is programmed in sync with the security codes, or how the heat-trace underneath the restaurants signals an abnormality that can be remedied before a problem is even noticed by the staff. And yet, if I wanted to work merely for recognition, I would have chosen the wrong trade. I find satisfaction in my work by my own hand. I know I do a good job, and that is enough.
I like to work with my hands. I enjoy creating, really, and as an electrician there is definitely a sense of power in that. With my skills and knowledge, I can aid in such basic creation. Nearly everything requires electricity now, and it goes so far beyond light fixtures and televisions. What of fiber optics, security systems, fire alarm stations? These are specialties for an electrician, and ones I am learning.
It may sound silly to some. However, by the end of the day our crew stood at the ready, waiting for send-off by our foreman. Our muscles ached, we were all drenched in sweat, and quite a few of us were bleeding from the minor lacerations that accompany such work. We put in a damn fine shift, building this mega-resort. Sometimes I wonder at the fact that hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals alike will pass through the main doors, and not give a second glance to the one-of-a-kind escalating stairway (the only one of its size in the world), or the million dollar chandeliers. They will not ponder at how the dance floor of the nightclub moves for them, or how the keycard for their hotel room is programmed in sync with the security codes, or how the heat-trace underneath the restaurants signals an abnormality that can be remedied before a problem is even noticed by the staff. And yet, if I wanted to work merely for recognition, I would have chosen the wrong trade. I find satisfaction in my work by my own hand. I know I do a good job, and that is enough.
posted by Logan Nambiet at
11:40 PM
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