Since I began my job at Roundarch, I have been sitting basically right next to the twelfth floor window overlooking a new building construction. As of yet, I have no idea what the building will be but office consensus thus far is that it will probably be a parking garage. Either that or a very, very large extension to the adjacent adult book store. Probably the former.
The coolest addition to the construction site is the now famous Manitowac 2250 (at least its famous for me).
Yes, my coworker Josh (we do indeed have the same name) has called me crazy for my recent obsession with these things, but they are damn cool. I mean, look at it!
What a beauty. Tall, handsome. Red. And precariously thin. Standing nearly 400′ high and controlled by one tiny, underpaid construction worker, this thing could tear out the entire West side of the 20th floor of the nearby Marriott due to only a tiny muscle spasm of its operator.
But its cool. Damn cool. Imagine all that power in your hands. Its a child’s sandbox dream come true.
I discovered some cool things about crane operators. You only have to have a high school education and some special training. You have to be pretty good at math and a variety of other similar skills. The median wage is around $18 an hour. And most crane operator deaths are due to electrocution.
But who cares? You get to lift really heavy things and build massive buildings and attract the attention of people like me.
So this is to you, mystery crane operator on Kinzie street in Chicago. I salute you. In fact, I might even buy the 3′ model and place it on my desk. Now that would probably make my coworkers think I’m nuts. :)
