Hit 500 elevator call buttons replaced and it feels weird

So I was cleaning out my work van last Friday, just sorting through old parts bins, and I found a little notebook I used to keep track of jobs. I flipped through it and realized I've swapped out exactly 500 elevator call buttons over the last three years. Five hundred! It's such a random, specific number, and it just hit me how many times I've stood there with my little screwdriver, popping off that plastic plate. The weird part is, I can still remember the first one I ever did on my own, a sticky button in a library that kept getting jammed with pencil eraser bits. It mattered because it made me think about all the tiny, unseen fixes that keep things moving. You never really notice a call button until it's broken, right? Has anyone else ever kept a weird count like that on a simple part?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmawood21d ago

Totally get that feeling. I kept a tally of light switches I replaced in an old school building, just basic toggles, and it was over a thousand. There's something about hitting a round number that makes you stop and think about all those little, forgettable jobs.

the_jordan21d ago

Honestly, that part about hitting a round number is so true. I had a similar thing counting ceiling tiles I cleaned in an office. Once I passed five hundred, I just sat there for a minute. It was weird thinking about my hands touching every single one of those boring white squares. Makes you see the whole place different after.

the_brian21d ago

Know exactly what you mean.