Month: September 2004

This week has been more than frustrating for me Tuesday we had 3 tests one in Residential Theory second in Study Skills, and third in the dreaded Basic Electric, Residential Theory went well I felt fairly confident with that one Study Skills was not as good I was uncertain about quite a bit on that one I just have so much trouble absorbing the needed information and then we had the Basic Electric after we took that one I felt really good about it, We got Residential Theory corrected and returned first I got 100% I was thrilled with that one In Study Skills I got 85% not anything to be too thrilled about but I am holding a 92% in that class even with that shitty 85% all that is left is the final report due next Wednesday I should be fine with that I have it almost complete I just hope I did it correctly, Third Basic Electric we got back Thursday I got my paper and looked and saw a 85% WTF I could not believe it I knew all the material I looked and here the last question worth 4 points was a schematic drawing we were given the voltage of the circuit and the value of the 4 resistors we had to find the Amps, of the circuit, voltage and Wattage at each resistor, an easy problem just follow the formulas which I know and it all works out, well for some reason I thought value of R4 was 5 Ohms it was actually 8 Ohms to me the 8 looked like a 5 well that threw all my calculations off so I totally missed all 4 points, I was so pissed and I also missed a true and false it was one you had to think about so I left that one for last it was “ Doubling the resistance in a circuit halves the current if the voltage is held constant” I went back to that one after I got all my other problems worked out I figured the answer it was True just then the teacher asked if all the tests are turned in I looked up and everybody else was done just then the bell rang, I went back circled False and turned it in I have no idea why I circled False I knew the correct answer GRRRRRRRR
I was so upset with myself I would not even talk to anybody the rest of the day, I went home and spent the rest of the evening splitting wood. So today we had yet another test in Residential Theory I took it I knew the answers but lost all confidence in myself after blowing the Basic Electric test, the circuit we had to draw was a challenge but I thought I got it OK I just was not sure if he wanted the downstream outlet to be GFCI protected so I did wire it into the GFCI. I answered all the rest of the questions to the best of my ability then just went on to the next class, and never gave that test another thought. Another test this was for the test out in Basic Math Damn it was hard I know I did not test out I am quite rusty with multiplying and dividing fractions but no big deal this test does not affect our grades it is just an evaluation test if you pass you don’t need to take the course I know I did not do too well and even if I did I would still take the class to be better prepared for Tech Math. Which brings us to lab we have the same teacher in Lab as Residential Theory, well he was huffing and puffing because there was so many poor tests results and really bad scores in fact several people failed, adding to my depression, Well he came into the room and shouted someone finally got a 100% He said where is Tim Ross I said right here I was working on my project #28 he said congratulations You are the first to get 100% on the test good Job. I don’t particularly like being in the spotlight like that he said that in front of both my class and the second semester class, but My confidences came right back I was once again happy and now determined never to make a mistake again like I did in the last Basic Electric class, funny how quickly things can turn around
Tonight Crista and I went out to eat we went to that great Chinese restaurant that just opened up the food is so great there then after that I just stayed home and vegged in front of the TV…..
Tomorrow I will work on my wood pile and go get some shopping done Mom wants a spotlight put up on the back of the house that will be an easy project and if all goes well I am going riding Sunday we are going out East toward Du Boise area it should be a good time and a welcome relief from the stress of this week
Enjoy Life,
Tim 😉

This week went Ok till Thursday Night it started to rain and we ended up getting I think they said 5 inches it rained hard all day Friday it was a miserable drive home from school I had the wipers on fast almost all the way home roads were starting to flood out but I live in an area where I sit pretty high and no streams around so I had no flood damage but a lot of people did , Crissy and I went out to eat her new boyfriend was not yet home from work and the race season is over so we went and had a nice dinner and got caught up…..

Saturday at the Saxonburg Fire Hall they had what they call Sportsman Fest for $40.00 you get a ticket to get in they raffle off something every 5 minutes mostly guns but there was 2 drawings for $5000.00 each and one for $10,000 and they raffled 4 ATVs I of course did not win a thing, plus you get all you can eat and drink they have so much food and it lasted all day around noon they had a pig roast there was so much pork for sandwiches and potato salad and all kind of goodies then around 4:00 they had wings and fries I stood in line for about ½ hour and they were really disappointing they were over cooked but the fries were good so I got back in the shorter line and had another sandwich and some cole slaw so I had my fill of food I only had a couple beers as the drinking and driving law kind of worries me so I had only a couple early then drank coffee. It was a really good time even though I did not win anything. I got home around 8:00 and just worked on a couple projects for school…

Today I had to go buy a new ink cartridge for my printer I have to do a report for Study Skills class the teacher said we can do it on anything everybody was going to do it on electricity and the light bulb or something pertaining to what we are going to school for but I am doing mine on the Indian Motorcycle I never did a report like this before I think I am about ½ way done it only has to be a minimum 500 words but there is a certain way it has to be set up I am going to do my best it is due the 29th that is the last day of Study Skills class then it is on to Technical Math LOL that sounds like it is going to be a tough one. Anyhow I got my cartridge and some pencils and erasers and batteries for my volt meter which we are going to get into learning how to use it properly next week in Basic Electric class. After that I went to watch the Steelers lose with Dad we were so mad LOL I thought for sure they were going to win, I do love Football season. After I got home I put a load in the washer which needs to get switched to the dryer here soon and made my lunch for tomorrow and got all my stuff packed up and ready so I am going to loaf the rest of the evening…..
Enjoy Life,
Tim 😉
I just found out you can right click a misspelled word in Microsoft Word and it gives you suggestions for a correct one how cool is that LOL….

Well I do have to admit School does consume an awful lot of my time the big thing I have been learning in Study Skills is time management setting aside study time and just basically planning my day in the morning and following through it has been working out for me although I have to admit I really need to focus to stay with my daily schedule but it does help…..

Last week we had 2 tests on Tuesday My dreaded Basic Electric I have to work so hard to remember formulas and symbols and abbreviations I studied like I never did before on that one and it paid off I got 100 % I am really proud of that however I spent more time on that and not enough on the Residential Theory test I really blew that one I got a 90% and of course it was just a couple dumb mistakes I was so stressed over the Basic Electric that I did not pay good enough attention to a couple simple questions that I knew the answer to, Oh Well what is done is done I will do better next time. Lab is going good I am on Project # 16 and have gotten 100 % on all of them they are getting harder but I am understanding them more and more and am starting to enjoy doing the different circuits.

Now as far as Time management goes, Saturday evening Vicky called me and wanted to know if I wanted to go for a ride with her and Keith it took me 2 seconds to throw away my daily planner for Sunday and start over I said Yes, We rode up to Conneaut Lake Park for the Thunder on the Lake Rally I left my house at 8:00 because I needed fuel and it was so foggy and cold it was still about 58 degrees but I just dressed warm and it was Ok we got there around Noon by the time we picked up all the other riders and had breakfast there was 8 of us in all and wouldn’t you know it I loaned my digital camera to a friend and did not have it so I bought a disposal and had the prints put on a CD so I am not sure of the quality of the pictures I hope they turn out OK
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I had so much fun the ride went great the fog burned off and it really warmed up fast and was a beautiful day
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Now I could have sat and drank beer and watched this sweet little thing sing all day but unfortunately I was 130 miles from home and rode my precious Heritage so I stayed away from the beer but she still looked good…
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Now I don’t know what year this old Indian is but it sure was beautiful I am doing my 1000 Word report in Study Skills on the Indian Motorcycle Co I always loved the old Indians so I could not resist capturing this one on film
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There was just so many bikes there and we all just had a blast we left there around 4:00 rode farther up North to Pymatuning and stopped for gas and Icecream then headed home with a dinner stop at a really nice resturant I got home pretty close to 8:00 LOL I had so much work to do to get ready for School but I finally made it to bed around Midnight I needed that break it just felt so good to get out into the open and ride we rode well over 200 miles Now I can’t wait for our Fall ride up into the mountains for the leaves changing
I am going to take a nap
Enjoy Life,
Tim 😉

School is going pretty good so far nothing easy about it I am learning all over again how to study and focus and note taking I am finding out it was easier working then going to school I had my first test Monday in Residential Theory class I got 95% I would have done better if I had not missed the easiest question on the test, Then we got back our first test in Basic Electric I got 97% again another dumb mistake, I know the stuff but for some reason I panic when I get the test and have to start to answer questions, As far as Lab goes project # 1 through # 4 were practice all the rest are graded I got 100 % on # 5 and # 6 I start # 7 tomorrow My first test in Study Skills is tomorrow LOL I better not fail that one Plus I have my second test in Residential Theory class first thing in the morning I have been hitting the books pretty good tonight I think I will be fine Steelers are playing their last pre season game tonight so time to put the books away and enjoy some Football.

This weekend looks good weather wise so hopefully I can get some serious work done on my wood pile plus Sunday they are calling for 85 and no rain = Motorcycle. I keep forgetting this is a long weekend but as of right now I have no plans for Monday..

I need to keep adjusting my time to leave home in the morning I finally found that is I leave at 6:40 I miss a lot of the School bus traffic once I get into RT 422 it is all highway driving from that point I figured my mileage for my truck is 22.9 MPG it is 50 miles to school and today I made it in 55 minutes I can’t see how to cut any more time or miles off the travel it sure is eating up a lot of gas but I knew this was the way it is going to be, I have been packing my lunch everyday I could do without it being we get let out at 1:00 but since I don’t eat breakfast I am pretty darn hungry by 2:00 so lunch has been working out OK. 90 % of my class are new high School graduates so there is quite the age difference I pretty much stay to myself I am friendly with everybody but still it is hard to relate so I just focus on what I need to get accomplished there, This girl Natalie is right beside me in the lab I feel bad for her she always get 100% on all the written tests but is really struggling in the lab with her projects so I help her out when I can and she always asks me questions although she is starting to catch on she just needs to stop worrying about keeping up with everybody else and just focus on getting her projects right I always clean up her area for her so she can work right up to the bell.
Enjoy Life,
Tim 😉