I woke up at 6:23 AM and picked up my phone to check my social media accounts. I was still sleepy because of the effects of the T-day pill I took the previous night for my skin allergy and runny nose. After that, I bathed, brushed my teeth, and cleaned my bike before riding to the office. My office is just a 5-minute ride from my home.
As usual, my colleagues arrived late. It was 8:40 AM when I filled the 40-liter water cooler. Me and the staff driver loaded it onto the truck and then went to the office parking lot. By the way, I work at an electric company as an assistant lineman. We waited for the others to arrive. Plans tend to change at the last minute, and today was no different. Initially, we were supposed to clean disc insulators at a location 66 kilometers away. However, we received new orders to not only clean but also replace the disc insulators at another tower. Two teams were formed for the job: I was in the cleaning group.
There are two people who are particularly annoying—they take a long time to clean the disc insulators. (In Pakistan, linemen climb the towers and go down the insulator string to clean it with water, a Scotch-Brite pad, and a cloth. I’m curious—how do linemen in other countries clean their disc insulators? Let me know in the comments!)
Thankfully, those two slow guys were in the replacement group. We left the office at 10 AM. The journey was long and bumpy. We reached the location at around 11:30 AM, although I don’t remember the exact time. There were four linemen, and our supervisor drove the Toyota pickup himself because our regular driver had fractured his forearm in an accident.
Our supervisor dropped off the first two linemen and then me and another colleague. My tower was number 158, an American-made tower located in a wheat field. The ground was muddy, but I managed to cross it. Luckily, the path wasn’t too long. After cleaning my shoes, I climbed the tower.
The disc insulators were dusty, so I cleaned them with a cloth, which took about an hour. The tower had two circuits, labeled One and Two. I cleaned the insulators of Circuit Two, while Circuit One was live. After finishing, I climbed down, covered in dust from head to toe. I washed my face and hands and soon heard our pickup truck. The supervisor was waiting for me. I put my bag in the back and sat in the front—the AC felt amazing!
We then went to pick up the other linemen, who were still cleaning their towers since they had two to handle, while I had only one as I’m still a newbie. We figured we had time for prayer, so we went to a nearby mosque and prayed Zuhr. Afterward, we picked up the other three linemen. I moved to the back of the truck with my colleague. It was 2 PM, and I offered him an omelette, but he refused. I had some dates with me, which he did eat.
I arrived home at 4 PM, completely exhausted. I was still feeling the effects of the medicine, so I took a nap. I woke up at 6 PM, and now it’s 7:48 PM as I’m finishing this blog. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow with a new adventure.
Saifi out.