my new job

It's -44 today in Fairbanks, and I'm home from work for the third time this winter, the second time this week, because of the cold. Our cutoff is -40, although it's an inexact policy. A few weeks ago, we left Fairbanks in the high -30s to work in Delta Junction, where the first morning it was at least -41 and possibly -56. (The thermometer where we were working had bottomed out.) Cords broke on power tools, motors blew out, a truck froze up. One guy's glasses snapped at the bridge. Humans, I came to think, are one of the few things that continue to function well in extreme cold.
For the last four and a half months, I've been working as a weatherization technician for Interior Weatherization Inc., a non-profit that does the state-sponsored weatherization work in Fairbanks and road-accessible areas of the Interior. Our goal is the low-hanging fruit -- not necessarily the simplest fixes, but the ones that will offer the greatest savings for the investment. We replace a lot of inefficient boilers (subcontractors, actually), seal cracks in ceilings and around windows, and add insulation in attics and crawlspaces. We install bathroom fans to control humidity and ensure a healthy exchange of air.
Sometimes it's hard to understand how our work will help. And often, swimming through a sea of cellulose to seal holes in an attic, I curse the builder for not doing it right the first time. But mostly it's rewarding work with clear benefits. In a trailer, you can feel the difference on your skin between a slatted, single-pane window and the triple-pane windows we install. On a frigid day, it just feels right to blow 20 inches of fiberglass into an attic insulated with a thin layer of sawdust and foam packing peanuts. "I've never got a gift like that in my life," said one man after we insulated his attic, rebuilt the skirting around his foundation, and changed some light bulbs.
It's an incredibly generous project of the state, designed to save Alaskans money by making cost-effective improvements they couldn't otherwise afford. I like to think it helps the environment, too, by reducing energy consumption.
For me, it's a big shift from reporting on state politics. Some tasks require real focus, learned skills, and even creativity. But often it's pretty mindless. Which is not always to say simple -- there's a physical skill involved in stapling cardboard baffles to rafters while lying on ceiling joists in a tight eave. I guess that's one of the things I like about it.
I like the guys I work with, and the jobs I can do completely and well. I like blowing an attic for an elderly woman on her birthday. And I like, when a child asks what I'm doing, answering earnestly, "I'm making your house warmer."