Memoirs of a Worker

Comparisons and Perspectives, (and Side Comments of Building Codes)

I hope the feelings I’m thinking with this chapter come across the way I see things in my mind. Thanks for reading

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In my life I have been blessed to have seen a good portion of the world. In this chapter I would like to make some observations and comparisons.

I live out in the countryside, in the state of Idaho, USA. My home is surrounded by farms. I don’t live in a city, a town, or even a village, just an area. In the area that I live, I would be considered average. I live in an average home, on an average road, surrounded by really good, average people.

It’s interesting how my perspective has changed over the years. Where I live and even in the surrounding cities and communities, there are people with lots of money, but they don’t necessarily stand out, most people are like me, just average.

Currently I am writing from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Port Harcourt reminds me of what the Wild West was like, in that there is opportunity, money and jobs here for people who want to work hard. People flock here from all parts of Nigeria to try to get those better paying jobs. The roads are crowded, people are everywhere. (From my limited observations there aren’t many building codes here, or if there are, they aren’t enforced)

Like most places, there are the “haves and the have not’s,” here. The “haves” live in huge houses surrounded by concrete walls topped with Konstantina wire (razor wire), or electric wires, with paid guards who patrol the property. The “have not’s,” live in what most would consider depressing poverty. From what I’ve witnessed, the people work hard, and most live in small homes, without the conveniences that I’m accustomed to.

At the present time of working and living in a hotel In Nigeria, I look out the window or step out into the hallway and see guards walking around with AK47 machine guns! I’m grateful for the protection, but the disparity between my home and surrounding areas, and this place is amazing.

I’m also grateful for building codes. That may seem weird to some but let me explain. In the US we have national electrical, plumbing, mechanical, fire, and building codes. No matter where you build in the US, the codes are the same. For instance, each room in a home has to have a required minimum of electrical outlets that are spaced according to the code. Electrical wire is the same in each state: black is hot, white is neutral, and green is ground. The plumbing has to be sized and vented according to the number of fixtures, etc.

When I worked in Jakarta, Indonesia I found that each area of the embassy had a different color for the hot wire. Some places, the hot wire was red, others yellow, some were white, green was a common hot wire but I even encountered purple hot wire, and occasionally a black one would appear! Contractors used whatever they could find at the time, or whatever was cheapest. I’ve been zapped so many times, thinking I was grabbing a neutral wire when it was not. In some cases the hot wire color changed from outlet to outlet! When that happens, you are almost guaranteed to get knocked on your keaster.

Once in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, we were running new electrical lines at the embassy. I helped the electricians by drilling holes through the concrete floors so we could get power to the equipment we were installing. According to the as-built drawings we were working off of, there were no electrical lines where I was to drill. When my drill bit hit the high voltage line, there was a deafening explosion! It was like a bomb going off, and I was thrown backwards about eight feet and landed on my back. The explosion also took out a chunk of the concrete floor, about a foot in diameter, where I had drilled.

Keith came running from the next room. He found me lying on my back in the middle of the floor, fortunate to be alive. Keith checked me and helped me up. I was visibly shaken, and my face and arms were black from the explosion. I was sure I had missing body parts, but when I checked, I found everything intact.

Keith picked up the plan and studied it. “I don’t understand. According to this plan, the closest wire is on the other side of the room.”

Keith walked over and picked up the Hilti industrial drill motor I had used. “Look at this.” He held up what was left of the Hilti. The bottom twelve inches or half of the drill bit was gone and the motor was melted! It completely disintegrated when it hit the high voltage cable.

“You are so lucky. Why are you even alive?” Keith asked.

I didn’t feel very lucky. I ached all over and I had what looked like smoke coming out of my body. I was stiff and sore for a few days, but soon recovered.

When I think of as-built drawings, I am always reminded of this experience and how important it is to be accurate when doing the as-built drawings.

I’m not sure how I got off on this tangent; I was talking about disparities, so I guess I’ll go back to doing that with a discussion on hotels.

When I stayed in Hong Kong, my office always reserved a room for me at the Grand Hyatt. That hotel is five stars, all the way. It was opulent, and I loved how I was treated there. The restaurant was magnificent and the food exquisite. Out the front door and across the street was the ocean, and the views from my room were of the delightful Hong Kong and Kowloon skyline as far away as you could see, in both directions.

Compared to the Grand Hyatt, my home is pretty darn basic. My home doesn’t ooze of wealth like the Grand Hyatt did, it’s more or less basic. The bedroom in the Grand Hyatt was at least three times the size of my bedroom at home. Some things were the same with each room though, they were both clean and they were both dark when you shut off the lights.

In Port Harcourt, my hotel is the Goldenstone Luxury Hotel. Two days ago the power went out, no less than a dozen times. I have AC in my room of which I am mighty thankful for, but I cannot run my computer and the air-conditioner at the same time, because there is not enough power in the room to accommodate both.

In this day and age, the internet is a crucial business tool. To communicate with the office or different company jobs, the internet is a must if you want to get anything accomplished. The internet at the Goldenstone Luxury Hotel is sporadic at best, when the power goes out, so does the internet.

The bathroom in the Grand Hyatt was amazing. Polished black granite covered the walls and the floor, which was offset with the brilliant white bathroom fixtures. An eight foot long mirror, surrounded on the top and sides with sparkling lights, ran the length of the black granite countertop. The shower had adjustable pressure with multiple heads. I liked the bathroom at the Grand Hyatt.

The Goldenstone Luxury Hotel bathroom is functional. Like the Grand Hyatt’s bathroom the Goldenstone has a toilet, sink and tub/shower combo. However, the sink is mounted on the wall with no counter. The mirror above the sink is tiny, like one foot wide and sixteen inches tall. There is one, dim 40 watt light in the bathroom. Inside of the tub are two buckets, one is substantially larger than the other. I found that the handheld shower does not have enough pressure if I hold it higher than the water spicket, hence the larger bucket. I fill the larger bucket and then with the small bucket, I dip and pour water over my body to clean myself.

So what I don’t want to do is come across sounding like a snob, because a snob I am not. I am just trying to show the disparity from one place to another. I know that the Goldenstone Luxury Hotel would be the nicest hotel lots of people here, could ever imagine. I know that it is far better and nicer than most people here, have in their homes. I also know that if I had never experienced anything better, I would be content with it.

The bathrooms in both hotels are functional and do the job they were tasked to do. One is basic and the other luxurious. The one in Hong Kong is far better and nicer than the bathroom I have at my home. I also know I could become very content to have a bathroom like what’s in the Grand Hyatt, quite easily as a matter of fact.

Back home in my neighborhood and surrounding areas in Idaho, I’m considered average in worldly goods. Here in Port Harcourt and indeed, most parts of Africa that I have visited, I would be and am considered rich. I suppose it’s all just a matter of perspective.

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