One of the unexpected benefits of moving to New York, and the need for employment, has been the friendship and unofficial training in construction here. I have seen nearly every apartment in my building, as it is sadly falling apart, as well as sites in Queens, Manhattan and other places in Brooklyn.
Below is a picture of a new learned skill, namely grouting. The tiles, having been previously placed, needed to be grouted and Eddie took the opportunity to allow me to learn.
We also had to repair a ceiling, having been previously "repaired" twice by the super in an apartment in my building. Below is the nearly finished product being sealed by Eddie.
The picture below is the debris left from the super in his "attempts" to replace not one but three ceilings.
And here is a picture of me about to head back down for clean up after the ceiling demolition.
This was the state of the ceiling before we fixed the previous mistakes in craftsmanship.
Eddie has given me a great opportunity to learn a ton about construction I had not previously had, although many previous opportunities helped pave the way for the basic understanding of that which I am learning now. It has also given me the chance to meet those who came to NY for the opportunities to work as well as meeting those who are struggling to keep their jobs through this present financial downturn that has hit NY especially hard. I have told Eddie a great deal about the now mythical Seattle and he is eager to get on a train and asks me every time we meet when he might be able to go. His impression of me has given him the belief that Seattle is full of hard-working, polite people. I guess he is mostly right and can only humbly accept the compliment. It is naturally only the product of a good upbringing and the sense of community the NW has to offer, despite its negative qualities.
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