Closet Extremist

Another Milestone Passed

Well. It had to happen eventually. Time marches on and so forth. Just slightly over a year ago, I embarked on a grand new adventure, and I can proudly say that I still dig it.

Being in the elevator trade gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction, and a feeling of accomplishment that had been missing from my work. I enjoy the sense of doing something practical for my fellow man. IT forces me to learn, learn, and then learn some more. I LOVE it.

But...It has its drawbacks. When I hit the house, I am both mentally and physically tired. The mental part is good, but it cuts into my blogging, and the physical part is good, but it reminds me that I ain't twenty no more. My roommate recently got a job at the Geek Squad, and his girl Jenny works in a call center doing Customer Service for a cell phone company. They can commiserate when it comes to being "mentally tired, but when it comes to the physical, they've got no clue. Jenny had to go out to a local store today for a cross-training exercise, and she came home bitching aboout having to stand at a counter all day, and Steven has to stand at a desk for most of his shift as well. I get to hear bitching about "my feet hurt", and "I stood there all day", and sometimes I just want to take them out to a jobsite and show them what "real work" is.

Sure, they work on or with computers, and so do I. Sure, they have to have good communication skills, and so do I. Where I deviate is in the fact that I not only need to know electoronics, I've got to know, mechanics, hydraulics, and the relationship(s) between the whole of them to be effective at my carreer. Also, "standing at a counter" would sometimes seem like a blessing. A fair percentage of my day is spent squatting on my haunches, standing on ladders, and bent into strange positions for hours at a time. All the while, I am usually carrying or manipulating items that range in wieght from 30 pounds to 200 pounds (or sometimes heavier). At least 50% of the time I'm performing these feats, I'm perched atop a surface that has plenty of trip hazards, next to a two to twelve story drop to my death.

Don't talk to me about "being tired" when you don't work to this degree. It takes a special kind of stupid a certain love of the job to do this work. I'm blessed that I have that kind of dedication, or I'd really be miserable.

The best part is this: Most people are concerned about elevator's only when they don't work. Most of the time, you just step aboard, push the correct flor, and arrive at your destination. For me, that's truly the satisfaction in the work I do. When it's transparrent, I've done my job correctly. It's worked for a year...lLet's see what next year brings.

Posted by Johnny - Oh at October 20, 2005 01:09 AM | TrackBack