fun with electricity

Today was a good day to be cutting wires.

Yes, sometimes, my job description covers the handling of electrical wiring, live or otherwise. I won't overdramatize here. I'm no Tesla attempting to bottle a lightning bolt. I'm not even sure I'm worth the collective wisdom of a two-week electrical dropout. It's just that the Pharmascience side of the building needed a little extra cleanup before the big resurrection Friday and I'm the more patient brother for the job.

I usually check with my electrician before such tasks. Marco's actually become my favourite of our team of tradesmen, so asking him questions never feels like a bother. We always end up talking American politics and theoretical physics when he does come by, fumbling from topic to topic while the more mundane work gets done between big thoughts.

(I'll always remember that time we were standing on the roof in the rain, reconnecting the 600 Volt aluminum wires from the street. How he and Joey just told me to hold both live wires without moving - if at all possible - with a smile. We all had a good laugh that day.)

So with Marco's blessing, I turned off all the breakers, slapped on some Beck and went at it with two sets of pliers and a ladder. No Fluke Tester required.

I'd like to think I understand electricity a little more now than I did, say, back in high school Physics class. But I feel my knowledge is all very practical. I'm still a little washy on what the neutral really does and why even  a 110 V shock can kill you in certain circumstances. But I know you always cut to the power source. You always make sure the red, black and white wires don't touch unless they were touching before. And you never trust a wire unless you can hold or see both ends of it in your hands.

It felt good to be working alone and the afternoon just flew by. Electricity keeps you focused, puts you in no rush. All the better. I needed the meditation and the alone time.

When I turned the panel back on, nothing shorted. And so we live to fight another day.