As a firefighter, I studied building construction a lot. Sadly, this gave me no skills in actually building a structure, although I can tell you why a lot of them fall down.
So when they started building the new Noble County annex in downtown Albion (which is right beside uptown Albion), I took double interest, since it was to be my new workplace. That's why I started stopping by periodically to take photos of the construction process, which I'm now sharing even though I'm pretty sure no one asked. (You can click on the images to expand them, which would be handy with real buildings, too.)
First is the skeleton of the building, more than a year before it was done. As you can see, the rib bones are connected to the hip bones.
The corner facing the camera is where our new dispatch would be, on the top floor. If they had run out of money right there, we would be dispatching al fresco, which means in the open air, which would play hell on our electronics. It wouldn't do me much good either. I believe you used to be able to buy cans of fresco at the grocery store. (Wait, do they still make Fresca?)
Faced with threats of indecent exposure, workers finally put some brick meat on the bones.
The final product looks way better than I thought it would, although it can't beat the old jail you can see here, just past it. There aren't a lot of bells and whistles, but there are doors and light switches, and that's something.
And here is my workplace, which doesn't seem to be making me sick like the old one. (I'm talking literally--allergies.) The job remains the same, but we don't blow a breaker whenever we use the microwave ... and that's also something.
We have our own kitchen! Which may not seem like much, but when you work 12 hour shifts it's nice to have a sink to wash your dishes in. Overall I can't complain, although I probably will anyway. I'll probably stay on until I hit the bestseller list, or get taken out on a stretcher.