The Sparks Lady

Well this is it! The last week of learning before the next weeks exams. At this point, the focus on learning the last few things, and getting that last bit of practice before we get tested. Just when collectively we seem to be mingling more as a group, it's so soon going to come to an end. The Dean of the school came into one of our classes to gather feedback about the school environment and the curriculum. The electrical curriculum hasn't officially been updated since 2003. The technology has changed so much since then. The teachers have been great with staying up to date. However, with fairly strict guidelines as to what they have to teach, there isn't much time to deviate for new material. There was also an interesting discussion that came up about the school environment, specifically as a trades school. Generally, non-trades people won't notice or pay much mind to things like plumbing issues (toilets not working for long stretch of time), communication wires

Monday's are long days. All lectures, from 8am - 6pm if we don't get let out of the last class a little early. This is the last Monday of learning though. Next week is the May Long weekend, so no classes, and the following week is test week. Phew! Tuesday was a frustrating day. I was hoping my Employment Insurance would finally be in. I'd been told 3 weeks ago that it should take 3 weeks to resolve. (Some complications between injured leave from the car accident transferring to regular EI for school). After a phone call to Service Canada, I was told all that they could do was flag it, and the processing department has 7 business days to review and clear the tag. So still delayed, for all the same reasons, with no explanation as to why it didn't get resolved in the original 3 week time period. Great. On the bright side, on Tuesday I finally managed to throw my garbage out from the second row of the amphitheater classroom. Softball season is back! This week in the P

Week 6 already! I had two tests this week: Electrical Theory (87.06%) Code (84.21%) This week we've finally gotten out of the electronics lab and into the electrical shop, where we've started to learn some programming of a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). I've installed a few of these, but have never programmed them, it was often up to the HVAC mechanic who had the specs for what was required for the motor. It allows motors to run at varying speeds, instead of only be turned on or off as needed. This is proven to be a more efficient method of heating and cooling control. There also seems to be more overlap between the classes. We might cover the same topics in Electronics, Code and Theory, but all from a slightly different perspective. It certainly helps with making the information stick. There are a couple assignments coming up, but no more tests until the final week, which is all testing.  I get the sense everyone is feeling a bit drained with the additional cl

This week is the halfway point. After this, only 4 more weeks to go. On Monday, Graham and I swapped vehicles. After driving the truck, getting in the Civic was like watching a dog drag its butt across the floor, except I was the dog. It seemed like I should have been in Fast & the Furious, driving under tractor trailers. I digress... There were two test this week: PLC programming (I got an 87.06%) and Prints test (I got an 92.68%). I I had someone commend me this week for dealing with all the accident related stuff but still getting 80's and 90's for my grades. (Also got 100% on an Instrumentation assignment!) This has been Hump week: we are now at 4 more weeks to go before school is over. So it's really 3 more weeks of learning and a week of tests. WIth how busy I've been, I've had to drop any tutoring I wanted to do. I've had a minimum of 3 appointments a week, mostly after, sometimes during school. With missed classes I had enough of my own catch

I had 3 tests on Monday and we're not even halfway through the course yet. Through the tutoring I've been doing, I reviewed the content for these tests in much more detail than I would have were I reviewing the material solo. As they are mostly reviewing content, I'm not too worried about them. Tuesday was the day I was most excited for this week. I got to be a guest speaker at Craig Kielburger Secondary School in Milton. They had a #ProTalk event for speakers from various industries and careers, and the students could choose 3 of the talks to attend. There was 20 minutes of speaking and presenting my slideshow, and 10 minutes for Q & A. If there weren't questions, I would help fill the time by giving some advice for interviews. I received my marks back for the three tests: Electronics: 82.86% Electrical Theory: 91.67% Instrumentation: 87% There are 2 more tests next week: PLC's (computer programming) and Prints class. I'm still liking the PLC c

He's going to hit me. If I try to maneuver maybe- Bang! One One-Thousand. The sound of a scream came from somewhere. I realized it was me. I shrink in my seat, recoiling from the impact. The side airbag deployed, grazing the left of my face and shoulder. I barely registered it. Somehow my right hand wasn't on the steering wheel. "I need two hands, two hands on the steering wheel. Steer!" Things were freewheeling now. I'm not in control. What's next? Two One-Thousand. Look left, the airbag was there. Look forward, but my focus was blurred. I could only see on what was happening inside the car. "Pump the brake, pump the brake, pump the brake!" I hit the curb that bounced me up and over the island. Three One-Thousand. "Pump the brake!" I came off the island into the right turn lane, no one was there. The car stopped. I braced for another possible hit. Nothing. I waz vibrating at a higher frequency. Trembling. I