Month: October 2004

I think there is no doubt summer is over most of the leaves in this area are blown down and I think they are all in my yard so another job is waiting for me I should get in that soon.
I was off School Monday and Tuesday I had to go have my testing done for my 5,000.00 grant toward my tuition from Career track since I am officially considered a displaced worker I hated to miss school as your attendance counts toward your final grade but my teachers were understanding and let me take the make up tests Wednesday when I got back that was the last thing I needed after all day Monday and Tuesday with tests all day then I got slammed with 3 on Wednesday I did well on them though so I was happy with that, the first semester will be over next Wednesday then I have 2 days off I love 4 day weekends Monday will be the third part of my residential Theory class final exam we had the first one on device explanation and the proper way to identify them and wire them I missed one part because I forgot to write the symbol for the GFCI outlet so that little mistake gave me a 96% and the second part was a circuit I had to wire on paper I got that one 100% that made me happy now the last part comes Monday with 100 questions must study hard I need 100% on that one. Basic electric final is Tuesday it is a 2 hour test so the teacher told us I need to do good on that one also..
Kelly just stopped over with the grandkids for trick or treat it was nice to see them all dressed up they are so cute I wish I had my digital camera I must go get that back tomorrow. Mom and I went out to eat Chinese for lunch it was delish as usual then we did some work on the trailer getting it winterized I don’t plan on putting heat in it for the winter so I had to drain all the water lines and I put antifreeze in the drains and the toilet that should take care of it at least the water end.
Back to studying…..
Enjoy Life,
Tim 😉

This week was better than last our first semester is almost over then we get 2 days off Nov. 4th and 5th then second semester starts we are pretty well caught up on things we still have final exams in residential Theory class the finals will last 3 days that sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun. Monday and Tuesday I needed to take off school Career Track is going to fund 1/3 of my tuition as I am considered a displaced worker but I need to go take tests to see if I am smart enough to go to school Duh, this usually takes place before you enter school but in my case I was signed up early and was fortunate enough to work up in Connecticut till school started and you can’t start this process till you are qualified for unemployment, I am not happy with taking off, school days off affect your final grade but it will be worth it for the $5,000.00 grant money but still wish they could have done it on my days off. Tuesday is only suppose to be ½ day so hopefully I will be done in time to get to school and start to make up my time but even with making up time days off still affect your final grade. I have 2 tests Monday both teachers have agreed to let me make up the tests as soon as I get back, they say Career Track works closely with the school so I am going to find someone who takes care of the school stuff and see if there is anything they can do to keep these days off from hurting my as it is not my fault that I have to miss…
Crissy and I went out for dinner her boyfriend broke up with her so she was a little bummed but started to feel better although I could not get her to try the Squid last week I talked her into Frog Legs LOL I told her it tastes just like chicken she did not agree and not will not have anything to do with Squid. I was up late last night I guess I need to stay away from the late night Ice Tea, I was up at 8:00 it was chilly in here so I got a fire going on and started some laundry. Last night I stayed on my basic Math for studying I am getting it Ok but the percentages are giving me just a little bit of trouble but I should be fine with it I am ahead of what the class is doing and did several exercises and checked them with the calculator and they were all correct except for a couple simple math errors. I put the math book away and brought out the basic Electric book we are studying the chapter on Magnetism it is interesting but a lot to remember this will be our last chapter for this semester.
The Steelers are not playing Sunday ;-( I have more work to do at Mom’s so I will go and get that one then I am not sure what I will do the rest of the weekend It will be kind of a break Monday as I don’t need to be there for tests till 9:00 much better than getting up at 5:30 and leaving the house at 6:20 I hate mornings but am slowly getting used to that long ride but the price of fuel is really killing me I filled up Friday at $2.00 per gallon I can still remember .35 per gallon when I started to drive.
My neighbors have a free standing wood burner for sale it is better than the one I have they paid a lot of money for it and it is much more fuel efficent then mine is however they want $400.00 for it that is a great price as I think they orginally paid something like $1200.00 but I can’t do it I just have to restrain from spending money needlessly mine works just fine it is fired up right now I keep my thermostat at 62 degrees and it was damn near there when I woke up LOL that certainly gets you moving in the AM
Enjoy Life
Tim 😉

Things have been going pretty much normal as far as normal goes these days in my life. School has been good although that long drive is hard on me sometimes, 100 miles round trip per day I just hope and pray my truck holds up. my scores have been OK we have 2 weeks left in the first semester I can’t believe that much school is over already I think it was last week Wednesday these girls from the Red Cross came in for their annual Blood drive thing but they came in during math class and we were taking a quiz I did not want to be interrupted as I am really struggling in math, they were really attractive ladies, but still I just did not listen and just passed the sign up sheet on, then Friday the day of the donations I was eating lunch and Natalie asked me if I was going to donate I said no and she whined a little bit and asked me to go with her and donate so I did that went good and I felt pretty good knowing that I may have helped someone out. Oh I think I mentioned this girl sitting behind me bitching about the electrical class was the only schooling that some organization would fund for her and she did not want to go through this class, anyhow she ended up getting kicked out for missing too many days this does not surprise me, another young kid got the boot for too many days off also.

I miss my friends,I miss my old job,I Miss having Money to spend on foolish things, It is so hard to let go I think of all the fun we used to have at work and how we all bonded spending all day together doing our jobs and working together, we all decided to keep in touch when it all ended, but that never seems to work out it has had me a little depressed lately they were like a second family to me and now it has been 2 months and I guess I am feeling a little lonely.I guess the one constant in life is change.

The funniest thing just happened Bertha found a mouse it is that time of the year I guess since it is getting so cold out, anyhow I tried to get it but she wanted it at the same time we were fighting over who would catch the damn thing finally she won she got it in her mouth and I just admitted defeat and let her outside with it but with the rain she will not be out there too long, I just check on her and the mouse got away she did not want to come back in LOL I think she would have chased that damn mouse out in the rain all evening.

I went to watch the game with Dad yesterday and finished one wiring job for Mom she wanted a motion detector light put up outside by the driveway and another outlet in the basement so after getting that job done I watched the game with Dad. Mom made Chili it was great and Cheese Cake for desert I had lots of leftovers to bring home, next week is a buy week but I will still go down Mom wants another but light put on the back of the house with a switch in the den, LOL old house wiring it the hardest but I should be able to get it done next Sunday
Enjoy Life
Tim 😉

I seem to have lost my focus in Residential Electrical Theory class We covered several subjects Monday and Tuesday and today had a test Well I blew it so bad I got the test and did not know what to do and my answers were so far out in left field I could not believe it I actually did not know the answers I was so mad at myself when I got the test back I got a 71% Now there is no excuse for that I wired a 6.6KVA Stove with 10AWG wire and a 40 Amp Thermal Breaker (Don’t laugh too hard Bobbi) So wrong the wire would melt before the breaker kicked and the killer is I know better than that and we were supposed to show the NEC codes stating where we got our wiring information it all just seemed to blow over my head I was totally lost in the NEC book and I could not understand why. I pondered this after school till got a call from a friend to go to the Olive Garden for dinner I said what the heck and went. During my second endless Pasta Bowl (Garlic Alfredo W/ Angel Hair Pasta) I realized I may have just been taking Residential Theory class too lightly I got 100% on my last 3 tests and we just switched from 120 Volt to 240 Volt applications I have been so focused on Math (fractions UGH) and Basic Electric that I did not focus enough attention in class, Soooo This will never happen again I am over it and will take one class at a time and give each class 100% attention when I am there. Next we are covering Jet Pumps and Submersible water pumps I already spent my lab time going over it and found all the codes in the NEC book which is confusing as hell but I have Marked the pages highlighted the paragraphs and conversion tables and am ready for it… sigh Ok I am done venting on that subject

We had our first frost last night and it was quite cold today so when I came home I fired up the wood burner everything was fine with it and it warmed up fast I had my thermostat down to 65 degrees it is still warm in here so I am not going to bother lighting it up I will just use an extra blanket..

Ok there was something else I wanted to say but can’t remember and it is getting too late so I will close for now just wanted my unfocused day in writing My track ball is sticking Need to make a note to take apart and clean, must have been the chicken wings the other night.
Enjoy Life
Tim ;-(

Another weekend is over I did not get much done I had a big test today I did get a lot of studying done over the weekend for that, It was a lot harder than I had thought I think I missed 3 out of 35 I will find out tomorrow I still am not comfortable taking tests, I missed one on my basic math test simply because I answered 13-7 to equal 9 instead of 6 which threw off all the rest of my calculations see it is little dumb things like that which are hurting me and I don’t know why I miss the little easy things like that.
I put a serious dent in my wood pile all that I have here is all cut and split so now all I need to do is stack it and I have maybe 2 of 3 more loads to haul up and once I get that my wood will be done for the winter I am way behind this year I wanted to be done by labor day but that did not happen but I need to get it finished up because my brother is going to be coming soon to get the splitter tonight they are calling for frost so I made room for my big plants in my bedroom which they grew like crazy all summer the room is going to be a little crowded this winter. It is now down to 57 degrees out I had my furnace lit for about a week I need to clean out my chimney before I light the wood burner I think I will also try to get that done tonight……

I am back I got my bedroom cleaned re arraigned and my plants are nice and snug inside and sure enough my brother came to pick up his log splitter I am glad I got everything split that I had here I have some laundry going on my lunch is packed all studying for tomorrow is done and now it is time for Monday Night Football………
Enjoy Life,
Tim 😉